The
Season of giving “time” to the lonely
Studies have shown that nearly 25% of the US
population consider themselves “lonely”. Contrary to what
we would normally expect, loneliness covers all age groups where no age bracket
is immune from feeling lonely.
Loneliness produces unpleasant and distressing
feelings where severe and prolonged exposure can affect one’s mental state
leading to depression or suicide. It normally occurs when your social network
is deficient in either quality or quantity. It is a very subjective experience
where you can be “alone without feeling lonely” or can be “alone in a crowd”
Your feelings can range from being anxious, unhappy,
hostile, bored, empty, and restless. There are basically three main clusters of
lonely people:
1-You feel isolated, different, unloved, inadequate,
or friendless.
2-You have negative feelings of depression, sadness,
anger, and paranoia.
3-You avoid social contacts and work long hours.
It is strange that the elevated loneliness levels were
among the youngest and oldest adults. Late life can be explained by lower
income levels, functional limitations and lower level of singles available.
Universally, the quantity of relationships (social engagement, # friends, and
contact frequency) was a major factor in all age groups.
So if the US has roughly 321 million people, then 25%
would be 80 million “lonely” people. Maybe we should make adjustments for the
under 10 years old group, but believe it or not, they can experience loneliness
and isolation. Just look at the world refugee crisis now.
This Holiday Season would be a great time for all of
us who have the means to give ourselves to helping the lonely with our time and
concern. It would be a most welcome gift and one day we would appreciate the
efforts when we are feeling lonely.
Come see us at www.stressless.com
