As a busy nurse patient advocate, while ensuring that our clients are cared for during this coronavirus pandemic, I am hearing and sensing that many more people confined to home are feeling very lonely. There have been a lot of studies done indicating the importance of social connections and the impact loneliness has on health. Now we are required to be disconnected from our in-person connections. How will this affect our health and wellbeing and what can we do about it?
How Loneliness Impacts Health
Even before the coronavirus hit, loneliness was a growing health epidemic. This, in a time when we are more “connected” technologically than ever before. There are a lot of articles talking about how the widespread use of social media among younger adults contributes to loneliness. But work demands, inadequate sleep and not spending enough quality time with family and friends are also contributing factors.
Many studies have shown the harmful effects of loneliness in older adults and how it can impair health by raising levels of stress hormones and contributing to bodily inflammation. This can lead to heart disease, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, and dementia. In older adults, loneliness was shown to impair their ability to perform activities of daily living such as bathing, grooming and preparing meals. Douglas Nemecek, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Cigna Behavioral Health notes that “Loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, making it even more dangerous than obesity.”
Missing Personal Connection
There is not much research on how phone calls, video conferences, or social media platforms might compare to in-person conversations. What is going on during this pandemic may become a social experiment where we learn a lot about personal versus technology connections. We have all shifted to using more social media, phones, and computers to connect than ever before, because in many cases, it is all we have. Here at Healthlink Advocates, we have held several Telemedicine video calls with our clients and their doctors and they have gone very well. Another measure we have committed to is calling our clients more frequently just to check-in and discuss their wellbeing.
Experts are encouraging people to use all of the avenues available to stay connected and possibly find new ones. New groups seem to form every day to get involved with online. I hope that in the long run, we find that we have become more connected as a result of this pandemic challenge. There seems to be a heightened awareness of the potential to become isolated and lonely and we are intuitively finding ways to connect.
Tips to Cope With Loneliness
Amy Sullivan, PsyD of the Cleveland Clinic, writes about some helpful tips in the article, “What Happens in Your Body When You’re Lonely?” https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-happens-in-your-body-when-youre-lonely/
Become more aware of your feelings and find someone to share these feelings with
Understand the health impacts – since the pandemic, realize it is more important to stay healthy and practice good health habits.
Work for greater social connection
Do small favors for people or random acts of kindness
Take a social media break- since the pandemic, this tip is on hold because we no longer have in-person connections
Focus on quality, not quantity
Seek out a professional counselor if you need one- since the pandemic, more counselors are offering telemedicine video visits
If you would like to learn more about how to stay healthy and well with a mind body spirit approach, click below.