A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points out that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated.
Most notably, researchers found that loneliness rates peak among people in their 20s, and reach their lowest point among those in their 60s. Many people also experience a spike in lonely feelings around their mid-40s. These findings are as confounding as they are surprising, at least initially.
In turn, male participants reported more frequent loneliness than female participants across all levels of individualism, with this gender effect being somewhat stronger for participants living in more individualistic nations (βcollectivist = −0.07; βmiddle = −0.09; βindividualistic = −0.10, all ps < 0.001).
What causes loneliness? There is not one single cause of loneliness. Loneliness can often be a result of life changes or circumstances that include living alone, changing your living arrangements, having financial problems, or death of a loved one.
When someone feels lonely they are more likely to try to distract themselves with the other things in their lives. So if your colleague is always talking about their stamp collection, or always flying away on exotic solo city breaks rather than spending weekends at home, they might be feeling alone.
Psalm 34:18 tells us that “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” In Psalm 25:16-17, the writer gives us a prayer to God in a time of loneliness: “I am lonely and afflicted, relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.”
One in four Australian adults feel lonely, and the impacts can be dire. Loneliness increases our risks of depression, diabetes, dementia, self-harm and suicide.
Michael Collins, known as the “loneliest man in history” for being the often-forgotten astronaut who stayed aboard Apollo 11 and orbited the moon alone while his teammates took man's first steps on the moon, died Wednesday at age 90, his family said.
loner. noun. someone who likes to be alone and has few friends.
New data from Morning Consult commissioned by Cigna, finds that more than half of U.S. adults (58%) are considered lonely.
Research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, and even death.
We all feel lonely from time to time. Feelings of loneliness are personal, so everyone's experience of loneliness will be different. One common description of loneliness is the feeling we get when our need for rewarding social contact and relationships is not met. But loneliness is not always the same as being alone.
A person with no friends is often called a loner. Some other terms that are used to describe a person that is lonely or isolated include recluse and hermit.
Emerging research has found chronic loneliness can have debilitating impacts on physical as well as mental health, and that workplaces have a strong role to play in increasing employee connectedness and the richness of social interactions.
Loneliness is toxic
Loneliness has clear consequences for mental health, aggravating anxiety, depression, and stress-related symptoms. Additionally, it sabotages our physical health. According to two leading researchers, loneliness triggers an inflammatory response and threatens our immune system.
Loneliness has been estimated to shorten a person's life by 15 years, equivalent in impact to being obese or smoking 15 cigarettes per day.
Students from these 10 countries scored the lowest on social connection: Lithuania, Ecuador, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Norway, Russia, Slovenia, and Hungary. The UCLA Loneliness Scale was used to assess people's subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation.
When you feel lonely, you get more defensive. You focus more on self-preservation even though this is not done intentionally. Completely unbeknownst to you, your brain is focusing more on self-preservation than the preservation of those around you. This, in turn, can make you less pleasant to be around.
Young adults are at particularly high risk, with 37–50% of people aged 18–24 reported to be lonely. Parents, particularly single parents, older people and people who live alone are also more impacted. It is also an issue among minority groups.
1 in 4 Australians feel lonely. Many Australians – especially younger Australians – report anxiety about socialising. Thirty per cent don't feel part of a group of friends.
The dreary northern wastes isolated Australia from contact with Asia. This isolation was partly responsible for the late discovery of the country. It accounted in part for the relatively slow growth of settlement and handicapped the continent in its competition for settlers.
Contributing your time and energy, working alongside others for a good cause, can effectively help you in fighting loneliness. Volunteer activities are shown to ease stress, reduce feelings of depression, can help you make friends, and connect with others, and overall make you a happier person .
Proverbs 12:25 mentions depression directly, "Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad" (NKJV).
In general, based on 2021 survey data, the average person in America has between 3 and 5 close friends. According to this survey: almost half (49%) report having 3 or fewer close friends. over one-third (36%) report having between 4 and 9 close friends.