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Saturday, May 6th, 2023

Loneliness poses profound public health threat, surgeon general says

Author:     Fenit Nirappil
Source:     The Washington Post
Publication Date:     May 2, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
 Link: Loneliness poses profound public health threat, surgeon general says
Stephan:  

This is a very sad story. Possibly you, like me for the last three years, have been isolated because of the pandemic in a way not experienced previously. Most of my interactions during this time have been on ZOOM/SKYPE or Facetime, but not everyone does media interviews or speaks at conferences and, anyway, I spend so much time alone normally, except for my beloved wife, doing research and writing that the Covid-19 shutdown hasn’t been a big deal for me. But for many others, as this article lays out, this collapse of normal social life has become a major problem. If isolation has been a major issue in your life reach out and get involved in something like ecological movements. Something that focuses you on something bigger than yourself. It will help. I also encourage you to develop the daily practise of meditation. There are many ways to do this, and I have created one for modern minds (Mediation for Modern Minds). 

Half of U.S. adults experience loneliness, which has consequences for mental and physical health. Credit: iStock

Loneliness presents a profound public health threat akin to smoking and obesity, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy warned in an advisory issued Tuesday that aims to rally Americans to spend more time with each other in an increasingly divided and digital society.

Murthy said half of U.S. adults experience loneliness, which has consequences for mental and physical health, including a greater risk of depression, anxiety — and, perhaps more surprisingly, heart disease, stroke and dementia.

His advisory calls for a collective effort to “mend the social fabric of our nation,” including teaching children how to buildhealthy relationships; talking more to relatives, friends and co-workers; and spending less time online and on social media if it comes at the expense of in-person interactions.

Time spent with friends declined 20 hours a month between 2003 and 2020, according to research cited in the advisory, while time spent alone increased by 24 hours a month […]

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