AHL Behavioral Health Self Care Guide April 2021

COLUMN MENTAL HEALTH

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONQUERING LONELINESS

After taking a five-year sabbatical from his recording work and celebrity status, John Lennon reflected on his time alone noting “there’s a difference between being alone and being lonely.” He emerged from his alone time expressing inner growth and with greater insight into who he, John, was. His “alone time” was characterized as having a silver lining, and he went on to record “Double Fantasy,” an album full of love songs for his wife and young son. Clearly, many will emerge from this time of restricted travel and gatherings and feel a deeper connection when normal life re- sumes; unfortunately, many will not. Feeling lonely or disenfranchised can be devastating – emotionally and physiolog-

THE CONNECTION between our emo- tional state and our physical health is not a new idea. Oftentimes this connection is due to how our moods change our be- havior. An example of this is when we feel down in the dumps, we may skip being physically active, overeat or drink more al- cohol. But what about a direct, nonbehav- ioral mediated link between our emotions and how they impact our health? What about feelings of loneliness, a feeling many have felt more intensely due to quaran- tining caused by COVID-19? In a state like Louisiana, where we celebrate and thrive on family and large celebrations, our feel- ings of separation and loneliness are espe- cially hard-felt.

ically. Early research on loneliness and its impact on one’s health used marital status to indicate whether someone was alone. It deemed someone lonely if they were sin- gle, but as loneliness research moved for- ward it was clear that one could be mar- ried and still feel lonely, just as one could be single and have vast social connections and enjoy living a single life. More recent research studies a person’s connectedness to others and shows that lack of social connections can lead directly to many health problems similarly to how smoking, poor diet and inactivity can un- dermine one’s health. In fact, regardless of marital status, greater social connected- ness is highly correlated with decreased

48 MAR / APR 2021 I HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS

Jan Kasofsky, PhD Senior Vice President of Behavioral

Health & Human Services Access Health Louisiana

“Social science research links social connectedness with a 50% reduction of early death.”

morbidity and advanced age of mortality. Social connectedness accounts for infor- mal social supports such as participa- tion in group activities like belonging to a krewe, choir, sorority or fraternity, a house of worship, family cohesion and shared interest groups. These connections can modulate your health through behaviors such as other people encouraging healthy lifestyle choices or encouraging you to fol- low up with your healthcare provider; they can also act biochemically and increase the release of hormones and other factors in your body that contribute to your phys- ical health. We know that social connectedness has been disrupted for many due to the pres- ence of COVID-19 in our communities, but past measures of the problem of loneliness in the United States among people over 60 years old, indicate that between 20-43% experience frequent or intense loneliness. In a study performed in the United States and Britain in 2018, 20% said they often or always feel lonely. Clearly, the known shrinkage of social networks due to age and the impact of months in quarantine will have a serious impact beyond the pan- demic itself. Social science research links social con- nectedness with a 50% reduction of ear- ly death (Holt-Lunstad et al.). Published >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10

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