woman who is isolated which affects mental health
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In 2023, the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States (OSG) published an advisory warning about the negative impact loneliness and isolation can have on mental health. The advisory, called “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community” presents overwhelming data to support the idea that right now, we’re experiencing a phenomenon we’ve never seen. On average, compared to 20 years ago, people in the U.S. have fewer close friends, spend less time outside of the home with friends, and spend less time outside of the home with people other than family.

In other words, the epidemic of loneliness and isolation is real.

This matters because research indicates that social isolation is more dangerous to overall health and wellbeing than most people realize. Social isolation – even perceived social isolation – can lead to:

  • Depression
  • Poor sleep quality
  • Impaired executive function
  • Cognitive decline
  • Poor cardiovascular function
  • Impaired immunity

But that’s not all. According to Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad of the American Cancer Society:

“There is robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase risk for premature mortality, and the magnitude of that risk exceeds many leading health indicators.”

That’s a sobering sentence: isolation increases risk of premature mortality. To learn more about the connection between loneliness and premature mortality, please read “Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Like the OSG advisory, the data make a compelling case, and implicate loneliness in a wide range of health problems.

Thankfully, most of us have robust tools at our disposal to combat loneliness.  We have modern technology to keep us connected: smartphones and the internet keep us communicating through videoconference, text, email, direct message, and old-fashioned telephone conversations. These connections – and the ability to maintain them – are vital in maintaining our collective health and wellness.

How We Can Counter the Impact of Isolation on Mental Health

We all know what isolation feels like, and what loneliness means. And we know the obvious solution is to connect with other people – but that’s easier said than done. To work our way out of loneliness and isolation and toward connection and positive mental health, we need to work on ourselves as well as increase the number and frequency of connections we have with other people.

Why?

When we do reach out and connect, it helps to articulate our feelings accurately. We may or may not ask the people we connect with for help or advice, but that’s not always what’s important: in some cases, the simple of naming an emotion, or a problem, is the first step toward understanding and resolving it. With that in mind, here are our five tips for managing feelings of isolation and/or loneliness in your life.

Five Ways to Beat Isolation and Loneliness

1. Own Your Feelings

When you can identify and discuss your emotions, particularly those associated with loneliness, you increase your ability to manage them and understand why connecting to others is the best way to counter isolation and loneliness in your life.

2. Look for the Good 

When you’re in a situation that increases your sense of loneliness and isolation – and you can’t get enough in-person contact every day – experts say the best way to find the positive in your life is to start with gratitude. If you can name three things you’re grateful for, and focus on those throughout the day, your overall mood can improve significantly.

3. Nurture Your Connections

This seems obvious, and we mention it above: the very best way to counter the negative impact of isolation is through the opposite: genuine connections with other people. Therefore, to reduce isolation and loneliness in your life, make sure you stay in touch with family, friends, and peers. Send emails, use the phone, use social media – use anything that helps you connect with the people you love. Talking about things – positive or negative – with a friend can lift your mood when you’re down, and turn a bad day around.

4. Remove Negative Influences

Think of this as a type of spring cleaning you can do year-round, or think of it as a type of reset you can do at any time. This approach helps people who have plenty of superficial social contact, but still feel isolated and lonely. During your reset – to do your spring cleaning – take the time to identify and remove negative influences in your life. Work to identify and reduce negative habits, people, and patterns of thought: what remains should support and promote feelings of positivity and connection.

5. Establish New Routines

This is a good time to revise your approach to food, sleep, exercise, and media use. Think big, but start small: positive change happens over time, and it’s best to make manageable changes you can stick to, rather than big changes that overwhelm you.

These five tips revolve around personal empowerment. In addition to communicating direclty with other people, the key to reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness and increasing our sense of connection lies within each of us. When we understand what’s going on inside ourselves, we can take steps to manage our emotions and improve our daily lives. And we can do more than that: we can share these five steps with people we care about. If we help just one person get through a tough day ad decrease their feelings of isolation and loneliness, then we consider that a win for everyone.

About Angus Whyte

Angus Whyte has an extensive background in neuroscience, behavioral health, adolescent development, and mindfulness, including lab work in behavioral neurobiology and a decade of writing articles on mental health and mental health treatment. In addition, Angus brings twenty years of experience as a yoga teacher and experiential educator to his work for Crownview. He’s an expert at synthesizing complex concepts into accessible content that helps patients, providers, and families understand the nuances of mental health treatment, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes and quality of life for all stakeholders.