Britney Spears apparently had it right when she said, “My loneliness is killing me.”
When we do not have social connections, we are not only less productive and less happy, but also we live shorter lives. A recent meta-analytic review of 70 independent studies found that social isolation or loneliness predicted increased mortality, and the risk is comparable to that of established physical risk factors, such as obesity and low physical activity. This study is another piece of mounting evidence that if we want to improve our health and longevity, we need to take make sure that we have the social connections that we need.
There is a long history of research demonstrating that social isolation can be detrimental to health and well-being. Social isolation has been shown to predict increased risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and lower overall perceptions of health. Further, loneliness has been shown to predict higher levels of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, alcoholism and eating disorders. In the most severe cases, social isolation predicts suicide. And these effects can be bi-directional, with mental and physical illness undermining relationship quality, resulting in a spiraling effect of poor relationships and poor health.
Why?
Well, it seems as though social relationships can affect our health and well-being in many ways. First, the presence of strong social connections has a direct impact on well-being; we feel better when we are around people we love and trust. And these relationships may cause us to be more motivated to be productive; people who feel more connected at work may be more productive and experience higher work satisfaction. And this increased motivation may result in our developing adaptive personality traits such as being more conscientious. Conscientiousness appears to be associated with improved health behaviors and well-being, as well as increased longevity.
Further, social relationships not only feel good, but also strong relationships buffer the effects of stress. For example, when we have stressful situations, we can often notice the positive effect of speaking with someone to help us sort out our issues and just vent. But also people provide practical, instrumental support; stressful situations, such as having to have a medical procedure, are easier to manage if we have someone to take us to the hospital.
But there’s something more. It may not simply be the absence of relationships per se, but the sense of rejection that emerges if we do not have connections. Many of us may consider social isolation to be less problematic than the meaning of that isolation—that we are being rejected where others are being accepted. In fact, a recent study found that as far as our brains are concerned, there is little difference between the pain of social rejection as compared with the pain of a broken arm.
In fact, research shows that rejection in the form of stigma can undermine well-being. For example, people with mental health issues often face substantial stigma that is characterized by social distancing. The perception that one is being judged is a major factor that interferes with seeking adequate care. In 1999, the U.S. Surgeon General labeled stigma as perhaps the biggest barrier to mental health care. Similarly victims of bullying, that often involves social rejection, have been shown to demonstrate poor mental and physical health for years.
So what can be done to start addressing what many are calling the “Age of Loneliness”?
On the bright side, we are beginning to understand the importance of social connections to well-being and are working to help people remove barriers that interfere with good social connections. For example, we have psychotherapy programs that are designed to help people develop the social skills needed to make strong social connections. In particular, group therapies that are efficacious for disorders like depression give people the opportunity to learn about their interpersonal patterns and establish better social connections. Moreover, even for people who do have social connections such as marriages, we have therapies that can help improve couples’ distress.
Further, we are beginning to understand how to address the insidious effects of stigma and bullying on social and emotional well-being. For example, we now have many programs designed to modify people’s prejudices against those with mental illness in order to reduce the forms of stigma that can leave someone feeling isolated and reticent to seek care. Further, anti-bullying programs are being developed to help children become more empathic and resolve their differences without violence or social rejection.
In addition, we are beginning to learn that there are many different pathways to establishing social connections. For example, in a review of the literature, “The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research,” the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Office of Research and Policy Development described several studies showing that people who engage in altruistic activities, such as volunteering, develop improved social contacts, and resulted in improved health and well-being. Thus, people who are feeling like they do not have a path to connection can potentially find one in helping others.
When working to improve public health, there are often many things that we simply can’t change. Social isolation has proven to be a robust and significant risk factor of poor health and early mortality. And there is something we can do about it.
So let’s see if we can stop loneliness from killing us.
Photo Credit: Sasha Freemind on Unsplash
