This year has forced many people to stay at home on their own and this has brought to light some serious issues around loneliness and isolation. But, even when we are not in the midst of a pandemic, there are plenty of people out there that lack social interaction and this can have a huge impact on their physical and mental health.

This is something that we are only just starting to understand, and it’s vital that we all recognize just how damaging loneliness can be to our health. These are some of the serious health problems that are caused by social isolation and loneliness.

Depression and Anxiety

The risk of depression and anxiety is drastically increased by social isolation, and this quickly becomes a big issue because the two problems feed into one another. Anxiety and depression both make it difficult to engage in social situations and it is very common for people to withdraw and isolate themselves. But the lack of social interaction removes an important support network and leaves people feeling a lot worse. Breaking out of this cycle is so important if people with depression and anxiety are going to be able to improve their mental wellbeing.

Addiction Issues

There is a complex interplay between addiction issues and social isolation and it’s important to recognize it when trying to manage substance abuse problems. Mental health issues are often tied to addiction problems, so people that experience increased levels of depression and anxiety as a result of social isolation are also more likely to have a substance abuse problem.

Isolation also allows those destructive behaviors to thrive because there is nobody to hold you to account. You don’t have to explain your substance abuse or attempt to hide it in any way, so it often escalates. If you think that you or somebody close to you is struggling with this, it’s important to contact a substance abuse treatment center right away. If this problem is left unchecked and social isolation continues to get worse, it becomes incredibly difficult to manage.

Heart Disease

It’s so important to take care of your heart health and there are many different factors that can affect it. When taking steps to prevent heart disease, you should consider the impact of loneliness. Studies show that socially isolated people are 29% more likely to suffer from heart disease of some kind. The exact reasons for this are unclear but there is also an established link between mental health issues and heart disease, and it is also thought that loneliness encourages poor lifestyle habits like smoking and drinking, which increase the risk of heart disease too.

Dementia

Dementia is a complicated condition and many things contribute to cognitive decline. However, there is a strong link between social isolation and dementia and it is thought the prolonged periods of isolation can increase your risk of dementia in later life.

We are just starting to understand the seriousness of social isolation but it’s already clear that it is a big health issue that needs to be tackled.

Featured