Loneliness - the health consequences

Citation

(2006), "Loneliness - the health consequences", Health Education, Vol. 106 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/he.2006.142106aag.001

Loneliness - the health consequences

Loneliness – the health consequences

People who live alone tend to die alone. Not only that they tend to die sooner than people who live with partners and sooner than people who feel themselves to be part of a larger community, e.g. churchgoers. People who live alone are more likely to develop psychological illness and are more likely to commit suicide. It may not be living alone, as such, that causes the problems, but rather the psychological experience of loneliness that can result in deteriorating health. In this issue we focus on web sites that seek to help lonely people cope with their situation

Self Esteem for Women(www.selfesteem4women.com/loneliness.php?lnk=loneliness)

Although, as the name of this web site implies, the main emphasis is on self-esteem, there is a good section on loneliness and how to deal with it. The web site is obviously aimed at women although I think men would also find the content useful. After a brief preamble discussing the nature of loneliness, the user is asked to take a test, which takes around ten minutes and is essentially a measure of self-esteem. At the end of the test the user is presented with a score and a profile indicating how they are doing in life. Which is great if the profile is positive but it can be a bit of a downer if all the profile does is confirm that you have a miserable lonely life! After taking the test the user can dip into a variety of self-help articles with titles like “Fed Up With Feeling Alone” or “Feeling Worthless” and “Jealousy Sucks!”. While one or two of the articles are freely available, others are only available to registered users. If the user wants to go beyond this and download a number of self-help programs in the form of eWorkbooks, then this is possible, but of course at a price. This of course is the main reason for this web site. It is a commercial operation based in North America, and after tempting the user with a few freebies it quickly gets down to the real business of selling its products. Whether a lonely person can buy their way out of their predicament is debatable to say the least. Some of the advice presented here will undoubtedly be of use, but it is almost certainly available elsewhere on the Internet and a little time invested in searching will probably reveal that it costs nothing.

The University of Florida Center for Counsellingwww.counsel.ufl.edu/selfHelp/dealingWithLoneliness.asp

This web site is hosted by the University of Florida and contains a number of online self-help brochures. Topics dealt with include anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse, stress, suicide and lots more; there is even a section on dating skills! The brochure dealing with loneliness is relatively simple and straightforward. It is wholly text based and is divided into three main sections, the first two explaining what loneliness is and how we contribute to our own sense of loneliness. The more interesting section is the third that suggests ways of dealing with the problem. The suggestions are hardly rocket science but they are practical and should be easy to follow. The first suggestion is that we need to recognize feelings of loneliness and learn how to express them. The authors argue that to stop feeling lonely then the first thing to do is to accept that we are lonely. To help people do this it is suggested that they keep a diary, or write an imaginary letter to a friend, or to even write a song, anything that might allow them to express their feelings more adequately. The second suggestion is that lonely people become less passive and more active. Finding a new interest in life or joining a club will not only take your mind off the feelings of loneliness, it will also bring you into contact with other people. The authors are quite candid in that they say this won’t always work for everyone. Lonely people may have to try a number of different activities before they find something that they can get along with.

The advice and information provided by this web site is sound and well written. Perhaps a minor criticism is that the authors have paid little attention to the health consequences of loneliness and for many people it is these health problems that might make them first aware of their loneliness. Not the most earth shattering of web sites but worth a look anyway.

Retirement Matters: Loneliness(www.retirement-matters.co.uk/gparchive/loneliness.htm)

The previous web site was based in a University and was primarily aimed at young people. This web site, Retirement Matters, looks at the other end of the age spectrum and focuses on the problems of loneliness faced by elderly people and those who have retired. The site has been developed by a psychotherapist who claims that many of the problems of his more elderly clients are essentially the result of loneliness. The reasons for this are pretty obvious, this age group are more likely to have suffered the loss of a loved one, they are more likely to be divorced or separated, they may have lost contact with work colleagues, and children may well have left home. The author of this web site argues that the most likely health consequence of loneliness will be depression. People may not always recognise depression in themselves and so the web site lists common symptoms of depression including sleep problems, loss of appetite, constantly thinking about how lonely you are, as well as several others. Quite rightly, the author suggests that if a person is experiencing problems of this sort then they should seek professional help as soon as possible. For others who are not suffering from clinical depression a number of self-help tips are provided. Make friends in you 40s and 50s so they will still be around in your 60s. Keep in touch with relatives even if you have had arguments in the past. Try to avoid retiring to that little country cottage or even worse, the villa on the Costas. The scenery may be an improvement but not knowing people in the area and being unable to speak the language could make things very difficult. Although the web site is again text based it is attractively presented with good use of colour and backgrounds. The content is good and the advice offered makes sense and is easy to follow. Most users will find something of interest in this web site.

MIND(www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/How + to/How + to + cope + with + loneliness.htm)

As you would expect from an organisation like MIND, this is a thoroughly professional web site, excellent design, well organised and presented. For people who are accessing the web site through a slow computer connection there is a graphics free version to speed up download time. The content is organised in the form of a leaflet with links to each of the eight sections. All the expected content can be easily found with sections on “What exactly is loneliness”, “What are the common causes”, “How can I overcome it” and so on. The content is illustrated with quotes and brief case studies that makes the experience of loneliness more meaningful and allows users to relate more closely to the problem. As well as dealing with the obvious causes of loneliness there is also a section looking at how loneliness affects different types of people, for example, single parents, the elderly, lone carers, people with mental health problems and those with physical disabilities. The section on overcoming loneliness starts out by suggesting that the user learns to be alone. This may seem rather strange but the accompanying rationale makes it clear that learning to be relaxed and calm while alone can help to overcome the feelings of anxiety and depression that might result from loneliness. The next piece of advice focuses on learning to be with others, the implication being that the loneliness might be the result of difficulties with relationships. In this respect, links to other MIND booklets are provided, for example one on “How to assert yourself”. Other advice on beating loneliness includes the usual suggestions to join an evening class or find a local interest group and there is also a short section dealing with volunteering.

For people who might be thinking about psychotherapy as a means of overcoming their problems, the web site provides a brief overview of the “talking therapies” and a link to a more detailed booklet “Understanding talking treatments”.

Finally there is a long list of organisations and their web sites that might also be of use to people to people with this problem, as well as further details of MIND publications.

For those users who have decided to take the plunge and get out and meet people, MIND provides a link to “Event Challenges”, which are fundraising activities involving things like running marathons, trekking in Nepal, riding round India on a bike, or even throwing yourself out of an aeroplane at 10,000 feet! All great ways to meet new people but if all this sounds a little too much like hard work then you can also make a donation online with a credit card.

A great web site in all respects and definitely worth a visit.