Loneliness is one of the main responsible for causing people to isolate themselves. However, it can also be a direct consequence of this isolation, generating a vicious circle in which the person isolates himself because he feels alone and feels alone because he is isolated.
As a feeling, loneliness varies a lot from person to person. But one thing is certain: it does not choose genders, nor age. And the course of life, especially when marked by “negative experiences in relationships with others”, can be decisive for a greater vulnerability to loneliness, says Marta Calado, a psychologist at Clínica da Mente.
There are several triggers that make a person more vulnerable to loneliness and the desire to isolate themselves. Psychologist Ana Valente gives examples: “living alone, more fragile economic conditions, diseases that affect mobility, being an informal caregiver, widowhood, unemployment, where you live, whether you are closer to others or not”.
But he points out that loneliness “often has to do with our psychological health and our life history, which can contribute to being more alone and isolated and to the development of a feeling of loneliness”.
And how is loneliness diagnosed? Assessing how well the person is doing with himself.
“Health professionals have to know how to distinguish a satisfactory tendency towards isolation, to have time to develop their own reflections, from what it is to feel loneliness. When we feel lonely, we don’t necessarily want to be alone. We feel a tightness in our chests, an emptiness. We feel that other people’s lives are filled. We have to deal with the emotion of sadness, disappointment, frustration”, explains psychologist Marta Calado.
Feeling alone without being alone
Despite being associated with isolation, loneliness can affect a person even when they are at home, with their family, close to their friends or at their place of work. There are those who feel alone even when they have company and the person can perceive it “when they don’t feel integrated, they feel rejected”.
This ‘accompanied solitude’ “is one of the many experiences that makes the individual gain defense and protection mechanisms and not expose himself so much to others”. However, “without realizing it, they end up leading a life more focused on individual goals or restricted to groups”, not least because the person can feel alone in the presence of certain people or groups and not always when they are accompanied, says Marta Calado. .
According to the psychologist, the person may lack a sense of belonging at home with the family, but find it “in the family of the heart, which are the friends he chose”.
Ana Valente adds that this feeling of loneliness when you are not effectively alone was evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially among the youngest, who “could not have feelings of belonging and could not identify” with whom they shared a roof.
The feeling of loneliness in the presence of other people causes what Marta Calado calls “internal conflict”: an “emotional ambiguity, with psychological and behavioral impact”, especially when loneliness is felt with people with whom one is constantly, as can take place in a family or work environment.
How loneliness affects physical and mental health
Loneliness and social isolation are capable of driving a series of mental and physical problems, while also being a consequence of them. “Loneliness is associated with psychopathologies, such as anxiety, depression and stress, but also on a physical level, such as hypertension and cardiovascular problems”, says Ana Valente.
And by “associate” it is understood that it is cause and effect, which can lead to the feeling of loneliness, but that this same feeling can impact the person’s physical and mental health.
A person who constantly deals with feelings of loneliness may experience “sleep or appetite changes. The person can cry, have a greater lack of concentration, feel sadness, can have intrusive and constant thoughts that lead them to think why not be enough and interesting for others”, continues Marta Calado.
Looking at the impact on physical health, there is no lack of scientific evidence proving the relationship between loneliness and isolation with health problems. In 2019, a study published in PLOS One reveals that social isolation is associated with a greater propensity for physical inactivity, poor diet and use of psychotropic medications, factors that can trigger health problems such as obesity or depression, for example.
“Social isolation may be less prevalent at younger ages, but it is even more strongly associated with poor health and behavior than at older ages,” as the research shows.
Another study, from the same year, but published in the journal BMC Public Health, realizes that the elderly are also more vulnerable with social isolation and consequent loneliness.
The findings suggest that “greater social isolation in older men and women is related to reduced objective daily physical activity and longer sedentary time”, two factors also with a direct impact on physical health.
“Perceived Social Isolation (PSI) [solidão] is linked to increased risk of chronic disease and mortality,” explains a 2015 study published in PNAS, which shows a greater tendency towards inflammation and a lower ability to respond against viruses.
A study published in 2017 by the American Psychological Association gives an example of this, stating that lonely people who were exposed to the rhinovirus were more likely to develop symptoms of constipation than people who were not lonely.
But there are other equally painful impacts, such as an increased propensity for physical ailments such as hypertension, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and even death, reveals the US National Institute on Aging. United. In addition, it leaves the elderly even more vulnerable to the effects of aging on the brain. According to one study, elderly people in social isolation or in a state of loneliness show worse cognitive function four years later.
“Without a doubt, someone who feels lonely does not feel well-being and psychological satisfaction”, says Marta Calado, explaining that, in the elderly, it is common to take antidepressants when the feeling of loneliness is a constant.
“It is natural for people who are more alone to take an antidepressant to be able to more easily tolerate this emotional management, the lack of enthusiasm, joy and opportunities to find courage. Especially because this life situation with these psychological repercussions will have physical repercussions, because isolation makes people tend not to move so much, to have physical problems, such as muscle contractures, pain, cramps, accumulated tension.”
Scientists at McGill University in Canada last year revealed a signature of sorts in the brains of lonely people, mirrored in variations in the volume of different brain regions, as well as the way these regions communicate with each other in brain networks.
In practice, says the study published in Nature Communications, the lonely people’s brain changes were centered on what is called a “pattern network”, a set of brain regions involved in internal thoughts, such as remembering, making projections or thinking about others. people.
“Scientists found that the lone people’s pattern networks were more tightly connected and, surprisingly, their gray matter volume in the pattern network regions was greater.” However, lonely people remain at the mercy of earlier cognitive decline and faster onset of signs of dementia, explains Science Daily.
Despite being an association that has already been made several times by science, the truth is that it is still “uncertain” whether the effects of social isolation or loneliness “are independent or if loneliness represents the emotional path through which social isolation harms health” , according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Prevent loneliness and avoid isolation
“It is up to all of us to play a community role and within society”, says Ana Valente. The psychologist argues that “taking care of our own, whether the family or neighbors” helps the person who is alone to stop feeling, at least a little, alone, either because they are being helped or because they are helping.
“We can all do something to combat loneliness, not least because this is very positive for the well-being and mental health of those who help”, he emphasizes.
Ana Valente also considers that “self-care” should be the starting point, including habits such as “taking care of physical and mental health, doing physical activity and having a healthy diet” in this task.
But it is also necessary to know how to filter and, about this, the psychologist talks about the importance of “being some careful and filtering information and television programs”, especially those who opt for more dramatic content and that can lead to states of sadness”, adds Marta Shut up.
One of the secrets so that the person doesn’t feel the need to isolate himself is “doing things he likes. It can be listening to music, taking a walk, doing volunteer work, finding an active role within the community in which the person is inserted”, this last point being more advantageous even for the elderly, especially when they retire and lose the usual routine and even , in some cases, its purpose.
“Having an active role within the community brings positive emotions and makes the most negative feelings decrease, including loneliness”, points out Ana Valente.
Maintain routines and have daily planning “in the sense of occupying the 24 hours of our day with tasks, whether it is calling a friend or family member, walking the pet, having the task of doing the daily shopping, talking to neighbors, accompanying or taking care of the neighbor’s grandchildren” is, for Marta Calado, also a way of dealing with loneliness.
Although social networks are associated with isolation, in some cases they can be the essential tool to maintain contacts and shorten distances, reducing the feeling of loneliness. Physical isolation continues, but maintaining connections with others, even digital ones, can help a person feel less alone.
Source: CNN Brasil
