Are you lonely tonight? Or are you alone? The difference is huge. Being alone is solitude; feeling alone is loneliness. In most cases, solitude is voluntary. Individuals, at times, seek solitude from time to time to reflect on their lives, to solve problems, to get in touch with what matters to them. Writers and other artists need time alone to think, to plan, to create. So do many scientists and knowledge workers.
Loneliness, on the other hand, is involuntary. It creeps up on people and is often accompanied by depression, a feeling of helplessness and isolation. It’s an unhealthy state that often afflicts new elderly people, especially retirees who have given no thought to how they will fill the space work previously occupied.
Unfortunately, loneliness is a common source of distress, suffering, and impaired quality of life, especially in older persons. A new study carried out by researchers from the University of California has established that loneliness is associated with declining health, decreasing mobility and death in people 60 and older.
The study, whose findings was published in the journal Archives Of Internal Medicine found that loneliness, for instance, can increase the risk of death by almost 10 per cent in the elderly and that it is a negative feeling that would be worth addressing even if the condition had no health implications.
For those who are over 60, the team discovered, feeling lonely is a common source of distress and can lead to an impaired quality of life. In turn, they suggest that questioning older persons about loneliness may be a useful way of identifying elderly persons at risk of disability and poor health outcomes.
According to them: “Assessment of loneliness is not routine in clinical practice and it may be viewed as beyond the scope of medical practice. However, loneliness may be an important predictor of adverse health outcomes and medical risk factors.”
In carrying out the study, the researchers examined the relationship between loneliness and the risk of functional decline and death in older individuals in a study of 1,604 participants.
The participants, with an average age of 71, were asked if they felt left out, isolated or a lack of companionship. Of the participants, 43.2 per cent reported feeling lonely, which was defined as reporting one of the loneliness items at least some of the time.
Loneliness was associated with an increased risk of death over the six-year follow-up period. They also found isolated participants were twice as likely to experience a decline in daily activities.
Meanwhile, 40.8 per cent of lonely people struggled with the stairs compared to 27.9 per cent of others.
A separate US study in the same journal found a link between living alone and an increased risk of death from heart disease among people at risk of blood clots. Scientists examined data on 44,573 middle-aged participants, 8,594 of whom lived alone.
Living alone was associated with three per cent greater chance of dying over a period of four years. It also increased the risk of death from heart disease from around 7 per cent to 8.6 per cent.
No doubt, most people struggle with feelings of loneliness from time to time. Also just because a person is lonely doesn’t mean the individuals is depressed. Being alone and being lonely are two separate things. Someone can live alone but not feel lonely. There may be people around but because the individual is not relating with them, such is withdrawn.
Loneliness is a subjective feeling. You cannot look at a person and say the person is lonely because it is from that person’s perspective. It is a social perception of social neglect.”
But loneliness can take different forms- emotional, social, physical or environmental. However, the effect of loneliness could be more in the elderly, just as its causes could be many, including loss of a spouse, retirement and severe illnesses that incapacitate such, as cancer.
Unfortunately, health implications of loneliness are great. For instance, Dr Adebusuyi said when someone is lonely; this decreases the body immunity, thus making the person prone to some infections.
Loneliness has a wide range of negative effects on both physical and mental health. Some of the health risks associated with the condition include depression, suicide, heart attack, stroke, decreased memory and learning. Others are anti-social behaviour, poor decision-making, alcoholism, drug abuse and altered brain function.
Changes in brain chemicals and hormones can influence changes in the body, for example, which can exacerbate conditions like heart disease and arthritis.
To some extent, loneliness is increasing in our environment, and as such, elderly people are getting more predisposed to health and mental challenges associated with loneliness than before.
To reduce possibility of loneliness in old age, expert suggested engaging in activities such as small-scale businesses, engaging in social activities in the community and participating in religious activities. In addition, treating medical conditions that reduces functionality, such as stroke, is also important.
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