Feelings of cold seem to be part of the human experience of social rejection. Social rejection not only feels cold, bad, but it can also cause anxiety and depression, activating brain regions involved in experiencing physical pain.
In 2012, researchers in the Netherlands found that just the idea of being ignored socially was enough to make a person's body temperature drop. Furthermore, the same lab discovered that just the memory of being socially excluded is enough to make people feel colder. Simply put, loneliness can give you the chills.
"If you're already feeling a bit isolated socially, you're more likely to perceive a cold as a downer." This is one of several recent studies highlighting the effect a person's loneliness can have on their experience of an illness.
It's characterized by constant and unrelenting feelings of being alone, separated or divided from others, and an inability to connect on a deeper level. It can also be accompanied by deeply rooted feelings of self-doubt, low self-esteem, or social anxiety.
What happens to your body when you're lonely? “When you're experiencing loneliness, your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, go up,” she says. “Cortisol can impair cognitive performance, compromise the immune system, and increase your risk for vascular problems, inflammation and heart disease.”
A brain imaging study showed that feeling ostracized actually activates our neural pain matrix. In fact, several studies show that ostracizing others hurts us as much as being ostracized ourselves. We can hypothesize that, similarly, loneliness is associated with the pain matrix.
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.
Hyperventilation may also be the cause of your cold sensations, particularly if they are in your hands and feet. Those who have anxiety may be more prone to hyperventilating, which is when your body has more oxygen than it needs because breathing too quickly caused you to dispel your carbon dioxide.
"But for people who are depressed, those pulls dry up." And things that once brought tears or smiles now barely register. This kind of zombie behavior is a hallmark of depression, and it can make you seem cold, distant or aloof, pushing away the people who would otherwise give you love and support.
Loneliness unleashes excess stress hormones, causing an elevated heart rate, and increased blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Loneliness also reduces the number of antibodies we produce to fight infection and may make us more susceptible to cancer.
Loneliness is associated with poor physical health, including higher rates of cardiovascular disease and dementia, faster cognitive decline, and increased risk of mortality, as well as disruptions in mental health, including higher levels of depression, anxiety, and negative affect.
Being “alone” is a physical state where you are physically by yourself. Being “lonely” is an emotional state where you are feeling alone or disconnected from others – even when they're right next to you. Sometimes we are happy to be by ourselves, and sometimes we wish for the company of others.
"Lacking encouragement from family or friends, those who are lonely may slide into unhealthy habits," Valtorta says. "In addition, loneliness has been found to raise levels of stress, impede sleep and, in turn, harm the body. Loneliness can also augment depression or anxiety."
Loneliness increases the risk of premature death by nearly 30 per cent, with the report revealing that those with poor social relationships also had a greater risk of stroke and heart disease. Isolation also elevates a person's likelihood for experiencing depression, anxiety and dementia.
Published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a study found that people's expectations from interpersonal relationships undergo considerable changes as they age — resulting in them often feeling lonelier as they grow older, even if they're not alone.
People who are socially isolated or lonely may be less likely to eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise and more likely to smoke and consume alcohol. In addition, social isolation is linked to inflammation and weakened immune systems.
Young adults averaged 47.87, while those 65 and older, often assumed to be the most at risk of loneliness, scored an average of 40—the lowest score of any generational group. Simply living through a transitional stage of life into adulthood in today's world can be a lonely experience.