Loneliness And A Sense Of Isolation. Health Effects In Transference

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Have you ever wondered about the potential health and longevity consequences of loneliness and social isolation?

In 2013, E. Brody, in his article: "Shrinking loneliness", raised the interesting topic that loneliness and social isolation can worsen health, this is due to the fact that the level of stress hormones increases, and this, in turn, can increase the risk of heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, dementia and in some cases lead to attempted suicide.

One study found that among older adults who reported feeling lonely, devastated, isolated, or simply out of touch - the ability to perform daily activities such as self-care, cooking, decreased significantly, and mortality increased compared to humans. who have not experienced the same. With so much research being done on this topic, scientists are gaining a clearer understanding of the health effects of loneliness and isolation. They also study various factors that can help reduce the associated risks.

Research psychologists at Brigham Young University have stated in one of their works: “Social isolation means few social connections or interactions, while loneliness includes a subjective perception of isolation, ie. the discrepancy between the desired and actual levels of social ties."

In other words, people can be socially isolated and not feel lonely, they just prefer a more Hermitian existence. Likewise, people can feel very lonely when surrounded by a large number of people, this is often the case if the relationship is not emotionally rewarding. While studying this question, I revised various materials, I found the words of geriatric psychiatrist Donovan to be interesting and very useful: “There is a relationship between loneliness and social interaction, but this cannot be attributed to all people. It might be easier to suggest to people who are lonely that they try to interact more with other people who are emotionally suitable for them."

After analyzing several studies that cover about 1.7 million people, you can come to conclusions and trace the age peaks that account for the feeling of loneliness. It turned out that this problem often occurs in adolescents and lasts for some time, after which it declines and returns already in old age. Thanks to Lunstad's work, I was able to get an evidence base for his words, he and his team analyzed studies from 1980 -2014 and came to the same conclusions, although their study was enlightened about the factors of mortality in social isolation, but the numbers they cite in it are like times affect age peaks.

While writing this article, I have read a lot of research on loneliness and I want to share another interesting discovery. Scientists have concluded that this feeling may be a preclinical sign of Alzheimer's disease. Using data from the Harvard University study, Stages of Aging in the Brain of 79 Cognitively Healthy Adults Living Full Lives in Society, found an association between participants' scores on a three-item scale (a continuous cumulative measure of cortical amyloid load as defined by the Pittsburgh Composite B-positron emission tomography (PiB-PET), examined in relation to loneliness in linear regression models regulating age, sex, apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOEε4), socioeconomic status, depression, anxiety and social interaction)) and measuring the amount of amyloid in their brains …

There is now compelling evidence for more severe depressive symptoms, increased progression from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment, and from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Loneliness as well as depression can have similar pathological effects on the brain as a whole.

All of the above raises the question of how can loneliness and social isolation be countered to help prevent cognitive decline and other adverse health effects?

In our country, assistance programs in such situations are underdeveloped. In Britain there is an interesting program called Befriending, which includes special classes, getting a dog or cat, volunteer work. This program includes one-on-one communication with a volunteer who meets regularly with a single person. These programs show moderate improvement in depression and anxiety, but their long-term status is not yet known.

Another program called “Listen”, developed by Lori Teike, is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy to combat loneliness. The program consists of five two-hour sessions with small groups of single people who explore what they want from relationships, needs, thought patterns and behaviors.

However, unlike the first program, this one raises doubts that such an approach would be practical on a scale large enough to meet the cognitive remodeling needs of lonely elderly people across the vast country.

As you can imagine, the speech about loneliness and social isolation was mostly about one segment of people. This problem in the elderly in our country is caused not only by what is described in this article, but also in a number of additional, not entirely joyful elements (pension, for example). It is almost impossible to change something for one person in our “ideal” system, but if we try together, it’s quite possible.

Specialists can hold free group meetings, support meetings, people of other professions can sign up for volunteer programs, and we all shouldn't forget to call our grandmother and (or) grandfather, and our parents - more often. Give the most precious thing you have to those people who have been with you for so long - a little of your time, because for you a few minutes is a moment, and for the one on the other end of the tube it may be the happiest conversation.