The Alarming Truth About Loneliness

This is a tough write. I, too, have been a victim of loneliness and social isolation. The more I realized it was terrible for my well-being, the more I got trapped in it.

The invisible danger? After being in this state of loneliness and isolation for a few months, it quietly becomes your new normal. You begin to accept it as your life - leaving you in an incredibly vulnerable place.

Even though there were many studies and campaigns that have called loneliness an epidemic, I wanted to see it for myself.

Is it true that loneliness and social isolation can really affect your mortality? If so, how? Does gender play a role? Are we really at the tipping point?

I'm trying to find answers to many questions. Let's dive in. And be warned: the findings are pretty shocking.

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First of all, let's explain the terms "Loneliness " and "Social Isolation".

Loneliness is the feeling of being emotionally disconnected and alone regardless of the number of people around you. You may be in a crowd or with your family and friends, and yet feel lonely.

Social isolation is when you've no or little contact with others. You may lack people to rely on, live alone, or go days without speaking to anyone.

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1. Loneliness on Its Own Is Deadly

Feeling emotionally neglected despite being surrounded by hundreds can increase stress, anxiety, and depression. It's absolutely shocking to know how many are pretending to appear "I'm fine" in social situations while deep down they are fighting a violent emotional storm.

Loneliness is often linked to reduced sleep, weakened immune system, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases. It has also been found that prolonged loneliness causes chronic stress, ultimately leading to the wearing down of the body over time.

2. Social Isolation Is Equally Dangerous

People who are socially isolated delay seeking help in emergencies, have a poor self-care routine, and miss regular health checkups. They are also vulnerable, often getting addicted to smoking, drinking, or poor diets as coping mechanisms. They have very low self-esteem and tend to think very low of themselves.

One of the most overlooked facts is that people can be isolated but not lonely. For instance, introverts enjoy their solitude of being alone, but still, they are not immune to physical risks posed by social isolation - even if they are emotionally stable.

3. Synergistic Effect: The Worst of All

The most alarming finding? When social isolation and loneliness occur together, their deadly combined aftereffects not just add, but multiply. This deadly combo puts people at high risk of early death. To put it in simple words, if 2 + 2 is 4, in this case, 2 + 2 is a terrifying 10! That's the scale of disaster.

These two form a dangerous loop - isolation can make you feel lonelier, and loneliness pushes you to withdraw further from social interactions creating a vicious non-stop cycle where these two feed off each other.

4. Men Are More Affected

Smaller emotional support networks, struggles in opening up, reluctance to seek help, and not maintaining friendships after a major life change such as divorce or retirement are some of the possible reasons why men are more vulnerable to this global epidemic.

Women are more comfortable displaying their emotional turmoil while men reserve from any sort of attempts to do the same which can cause severe health issues over time. Perhaps society's expectations of masculinity are more to blame here than individual choices.

5. It Can Affect Anyone - Regardless of Background

Age, mental health history, socioeconomic status, lifestyle choices, or chronic illness - none matter here.

This means you can have a perfect life and still be susceptible to being lonely or socially isolated. Young or old, sick or healthy, poor or wealthy - we all fall under the same roof when it comes to this issue. Unless we take care, anyone can slip into this deadly epidemic.

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Want More Shocking Data?

• The risk of dying from isolation and loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day!
• Its effects are even worse than physical inactivity and obesity when predicting early deaths!

Conclusion

What matters most is not being surrounded by a large number of people, but that you're surrounded by at least one person with whom you can emotionally connect. The effect of being emotionally disconnected and physically alone simultaneously is a major health crisis that we need to address before it's too late.

More read: "Loneliness, Social Isolation, Their Synergistic Interaction, and Mortality" by Cristina M. Marín-Léon et al.

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