With the modern age of technology and social media, humans are more connected than ever before. Despite the interconnectedness all this communication gives us, loneliness is incredibly pervasive in our society. Some have called it an epidemic. We’re so connected- but are those connections fulfilling? Are they substantial? If we have all this access to others; we can text, instant message, tweet, and post on forums, then why are so many of us suffering in loneliness? This feeling not only takes a toll on us emotionally and mentally, but it can actually affect our bodies.

How does loneliness hurt us?

Physically

When someone starts feeling persistently lonely, their body begins to produce the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone can cause a variety of issues, especially with long exposure; it can impair your cognitive abilities, make you more prone to illnesses, and put you more at risk for health problems like inflammation, heart disease, and other vascular issues.

In older adults, who are at higher risk of persistent loneliness, loneliness can cause premature death. When cortisol depresses their immune systems- which are already weakening the older they get- it makes them much more likely to develop illnesses. This can start a cycle of diseases that take a harsh toll on their bodies.

Mentally

Loneliness, especially chronic loneliness, can be the precursor for mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. The University of Chicago found that prolonged loneliness is a strong indicator that depression will occur within a 5 year span. They also found that it was an even better indicator than showing actual depressive traits in that same span of time.

Social anxiety can also develop for chronically lonely people. They may feel isolated even though there are people around them they can talk to about how they’re feeling. Or they may genuinely not have any friends they’re close enough to that they feel comfortable opening up to. It can be hard to reach out and sometimes people can feel embarrassed to admitting personal details. So they can end up developing social anxiety; they have a very hard time talking to people, being around them – and in extreme cases it can stop them from even leaving their house.

Loneliness is strongly linked to an elevated risk of addiction. When people feel alone in the world, they always desire to connect somehow, and for some that takes the form of becoming addicted to a substance. Most of the time their reasoning will boil down to either; the desire to not feel alone or wanting to do something to feel good.

Another pervasive problem for the chronically lonely is hoarding. Because their lives don’t feel full of companionship and people, they’ll try to fill that void by collecting items. The longer the feeling last, the more severe the hoarding tends to get. They could start out collecting things that remind them of people who used to be in the lives, or hoarding keepsakes; and their stash of objects grows without stopping.

What can I do to combat chronic loneliness?

The first thing to do is become aware of your feelings. You need to know that feeling that way almost constantly isn’t normal or healthy and that you need to do something about it. Next, understand how this can affect you overall. As addressed earlier, chronic loneliness can cause both physical and mental problems to develop if left unchecked. You’ll want to start working towards forging new social connections. Try reaching out to someone over social media or by text and have lunch together. Start opening up and you’ll have a great start toward beating those negative feelings. If you look to connect to others, they will connect to you! But also try not to go for quantity of friends, because it’s really the quality that matters. And last, if you find yourself struggling to begin the healing process, reach out to a counselor or therapist. They can help guide you and give advice.

Remember that someone always has it worse than you do. Use that thought to help pull yourself out of a slump! Also, ask yourself what kindness you can spread to others. Look for ways to lift up the people around you. You’ll find that focusing on and helping others can stop you from focusing on yourself.

If you see someone becoming isolated or you haven’t heard from an old friend in a while- try reaching out to them. They could be having a hard time looking for a way out of that chronic negativity, and you could give them the boost they need to get on the road to healing.

With the modern age of technology and social media, humans are more connected than ever before. Despite the interconnectedness all this communication gives us, loneliness is incredibly pervasive in our society. Some have called it an epidemic. We’re so connected- but are those connections fulfilling? Are they substantial? If we have all this access to others; we can text, instant message, tweet, and post on forums, then why are so many of us suffering in loneliness? This feeling not only takes a toll on us emotionally and mentally, but it can actually affect our bodies.

How does loneliness hurt us?

Physically

When someone starts feeling persistently lonely, their body begins to produce the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone can cause a variety of issues, especially with long exposure; it can impair your cognitive abilities, make you more prone to illnesses, and put you more at risk for health problems like inflammation, heart disease, and other vascular issues.

In older adults, who are at higher risk of persistent loneliness, loneliness can cause premature death. When cortisol depresses their immune systems- which are already weakening the older they get- it makes them much more likely to develop illnesses. This can start a cycle of diseases that take a harsh toll on their bodies.

Mentally

Loneliness, especially chronic loneliness, can be the precursor for mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. The University of Chicago found that prolonged loneliness is a strong indicator that depression will occur within a 5 year span. They also found that it was an even better indicator than showing actual depressive traits in that same span of time.

Social anxiety can also develop for chronically lonely people. They may feel isolated even though there are people around them they can talk to about how they’re feeling. Or they may genuinely not have any friends they’re close enough to that they feel comfortable opening up to. It can be hard to reach out and sometimes people can feel embarrassed to admitting personal details. So they can end up developing social anxiety; they have a very hard time talking to people, being around them – and in extreme cases it can stop them from even leaving their house.

Loneliness is strongly linked to an elevated risk of addiction. When people feel alone in the world, they always desire to connect somehow, and for some that takes the form of becoming addicted to a substance. Most of the time their reasoning will boil down to either; the desire to not feel alone or wanting to do something to feel good.

Another pervasive problem for the chronically lonely is hoarding. Because their lives don’t feel full of companionship and people, they’ll try to fill that void by collecting items. The longer the feeling last, the more severe the hoarding tends to get. They could start out collecting things that remind them of people who used to be in the lives, or hoarding keepsakes; and their stash of objects grows without stopping.

What can I do to combat chronic loneliness?

The first thing to do is become aware of your feelings. You need to know that feeling that way almost constantly isn’t normal or healthy and that you need to do something about it. Next, understand how this can affect you overall. As addressed earlier, chronic loneliness can cause both physical and mental problems to develop if left unchecked. You’ll want to start working towards forging new social connections. Try reaching out to someone over social media or by text and have lunch together. Start opening up and you’ll have a great start toward beating those negative feelings. If you look to connect to others, they will connect to you! But also try not to go for quantity of friends, because it’s really the quality that matters. And last, if you find yourself struggling to begin the healing process, reach out to a counselor or therapist. They can help guide you and give advice.

Remember that someone always has it worse than you do. Use that thought to help pull yourself out of a slump! Also, ask yourself what kindness you can spread to others. Look for ways to lift up the people around you. You’ll find that focusing on and helping others can stop you from focusing on yourself.

If you see someone becoming isolated or you haven’t heard from an old friend in a while- try reaching out to them. They could be having a hard time looking for a way out of that chronic negativity, and you could give them the boost they need to get on the road to healing.