{"id":457,"date":"2022-05-12T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T09:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healesmedical.health.blog\/?p=457"},"modified":"2022-05-12T09:00:54","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T09:00:54","slug":"mental-health-awareness-week-focus-loneliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hwb.heales.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/12\/mental-health-awareness-week-focus-loneliness\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health Awareness Week Focus- Loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cThe most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.\u201d<\/p>\u2015 Mother Teresa<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are the people?\u201d resumed the little prince at last. \u201cIt\u2019s a little lonely in the desert\u2026\u201d \u201cIt is lonely when you\u2019re among people, too,\u201d said the snake.\u201d<\/p>\u2015 Antoine de Saint-Exup\u00e9ry, The Little Prince<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

At some point in out life, all of us have experienced being lonely. For many of us, the last 3 years have been a profoundly difficult challenge of learning to live without the contact of family, friends, and loved ones. We have had to cope not only with loneliness, but with complete social isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unique experience may have taught you things about yourself. You may have come to understand the difference between being alone, and being lonely. You may have learned new hobbies, and discovered aspects of your personality you didn\u2019t know existed. The capacity to be alone and content with oneself is an important lesson in self-understanding, and the pandemic may have unexpectedly forced you to learn it. Or, you may have found yourself feeling a loneliness so intense you did not know what to do with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some may have found themselves in a different situation; locked in a busy household, or with room mates, surrounded by people yet still feeling lonely when lacking the time and space to sit, reflect, and be on their own. Some were tested by having to spend 24\/7 with the same people, desperate for a moment to be alone. Whatever the circumstance, the last few years have challenged all of us, and brought concepts like loneliness and being alone to the forefront of our collective consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, the theme of this year\u2019s Mental Health Awareness Week is loneliness. The charity Mind defines loneliness as \u201cthe feeling we get when our need for rewarding social contact and relationships is not met\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>. This is unique for everyone. We all have different levels of need regarding social stimulation. Some people are content to spend most or all of their lives alone, while others have higher social needs. Sometimes we can feel lonely even when we are in a relationship or a room full of people. The feeling of loneliness is often a complex one that can be influenced by a number of factors, such as self-esteem, our individual need for validation, how many people we are close with, and how comfortable we feel being vulnerable with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact that loneliness has on our mental health is substantial. While loneliness is not a mental health condition in itself, many people living with poor mental health find themselves feeling isolated, othered, and lonely. Mental ill health is often stigmatised and misunderstood, which quickly leads people with mental health diagnoses to withdraw from society. Loneliness can also exacerbate existing mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, or cause the onset of symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prolonged loneliness can have profound effects on our physical health as well. Studies show that loneliness is likely to increase your risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke2<\/sup><\/a>, high blood pressure3<\/sup><\/a>, and puts individuals at greater risk of cognitive decline and dementia4<\/sup><\/a>. Overall, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

loneliness and social isolation contribute to higher mortality rates, particularly amongst individuals struggling with their mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when we find ourselves feeling isolated and lonely, what can we do to combat it? The NHS makes the following recommendations1<\/sup><\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n