Epidemic of loneliness: health effects; how to combat

Nikkei Asia reports on Feb. 12, 2021 that Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga added a new post to his cabinet when he appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto to be a minister of loneliness, charged with coordinating efforts across multiple ministries and agencies to alleviate social isolation.

Telework and the lack of social gatherings during Japan’s fight against COVID-19 have left people feeling increasingly stressed and lonely. Older Japanese who are not used to communicating online have become more isolated from the outside world. Even younger, tech-savvy Japanese have struggled with protracted social-distancing efforts. Closed offices and schools mean they have less contact with colleagues and friends. Many have also lost jobs, adding economic stress to their situation.

The Japanese government believes pandemic-linked isolation accounts for the first uptick in suicides in 11 years, by 750 to 20,919 in 2020. This is the first increase since 2009, just after the global financial crisis.

Japan already had the highest suicide rate out of any of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations, at 14.9 suicides per 100,000 individuals, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Much of these deaths have been attributed to health and economic problems, which could only worsen as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.

Suga in particular noted a rise in suicides among women. While suicides among men fell for the 11th straight year, suicides among women rose for the first time in two years to 6,976. A total of 440 elementary, middle and high school students had also died by suicide as of November, the highest number since 1980.

Suga said: “Women especially are feeling more isolated and face increasing suicide rates. I hope to promote activities that prevent loneliness and social isolation and protect the ties between people.”

Japan’s government has yet to come up with specific measures to address the situation. But it could model its efforts after the U.K., which appointed a minister for loneliness and published a “Loneliness Strategy” in 2018. Government surveys now include loneliness as a topic. London works with local governments and volunteer organizations to assist at-risk groups like the youth and the unemployed. Research has found that at least 13% of UK’s population felt alone, and that disconnected communities may be costing the British economy £32 billion ($44 billion) a year.

In the United States, according to a 2016 Mercator Net report, about one in three people older than 65 live alone, and studies show 10% to 46% of those older than 60 are lonely.

Dr. Carla M. Perissinotto, a geriatrician at the University of California, San Francisco, calls the epidemic of loneliness a public health crisis. She says, “The profound effects of loneliness on health and independence are a critical public health problem. It is no longer medically or ethically acceptable to ignore adults who feel lonely and marginalized.”

A study she conducted showed that, among adults over 60, those who reported feelings of loneliness had significantly higher rates of declining mobility, difficulty in performing routine daily activities, and death during 6 years of follow-up. This association remained significant even after taking into account people’s age, economic status, depression and other health problems.

University of Chicago neuroscience researcher John T. Cacioppo, who studies the social nature of the human brain, puts loneliness on the same instinctive level as thirst, hunger or pain – as a survival mechanism. In an interview he says:

“One of the things that surprised me was how important loneliness proved to be. It predicted morbidity. It predicted mortality. And that shocked me. When we experimentally manipulated loneliness, we found surprising changes in the “personalities” of people. There’s a lot more power to the perception of being socially isolated than any of us had thought.”

Cacioppo’s research has shown links to high blood pressure and impaired immune responses. Other research implicates loneliness in heart attacks and suicide.

Many things beside social circumstances — not having family members nearby or not having friends — contribute to America’s loneliness epidemic. The following two seem especially significant:

1. Ethos of individualism: American culture’s emphasis placed on individualism makes “independence” the highest virtue and an excuse for not “needing” others or for not getting involved in the lives of needy people. But the reality of human life is interdependence — we need each other. In fact, a main argument for euthanasia is that people do not want to be dependent – even on their families – and this could become society’s “decent” option for lonely people.
2. Decline of religion and church attendance has removed an important social as well as spiritual support for people of any age. A European study found that joining a religious organization is more beneficial to mental health than joining charity, sport, education or political groups for a sample of people over 50. Epidemiologist Dr. Mauricio Avendano, one of the authors of the report, noted:

“The church appears to play a very important social role in keeping depression at bay and also as a coping mechanism during periods of illness in later life. It is not clear to us how much this is about religion per se, or whether it may be about the sense of belonging and not being socially isolated.”

In the case of Christianity, it teaches us that even if we don’t have a loving family on earth, we have a loving Father in Heaven. Our faith also teaches us how to be loving mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and even enemies, so no one should ever feel abandoned.

One of the best ways to combat loneliness is to get out of our selves by:

• Literally go outside: Step out of your house and take a walk!
• Better yet, take a walk in greenery, like a park. Studies found even gazing at trees and nature elevate our mood.
• Exercise: Our bodies release endorphins, the feel-good hormone, when we exercise.
• Reach out to others: Call or email your friends and family.
• Be kind: Volunteer for a public service; donate to a good cause; do something kind for another living being — human, animal or plant.
• Talk to us on this blog! That is why I spent close to $500 to set up this alternate blog, Body and Soul, in order to preserve our FOTM family and community.

~E

Please follow and like us: