Psychiatric Facts on Loneliness

Loneliness is a condition that affects many people. According to a 2009 article in Newsweek, 25 percent of Americans feel alone. The percentage of Americans who reported feeling alone tripled between 1985 and 2004. People often begin to feel lonely because they do not have many social relationships or interactions with others. Constant feelings of loneliness can be harmful for a person's overall health.

Causes

• The causes of loneliness stem from an alienation from society and a lack of social connections. A 2009 article in USA Today reported that holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving often cause people to feel more lonely because these occasions are centered around spending time with close friends and family. According to the PubMed Health website, a condition such as social phobia can cause a person to avoid social interactions out of fear that they are being judged and scrutinized by people and that they will be rejected. Over time, these people become severely lonely due to being socially isolated.

Relation to Age

• There is a correlation to loneliness and the age of the person. According to the University of Missouri Handbook of Disabilities, research showed that people who were middle-aged and older were actually less likely to be lonely. Teenagers, on the other hand, were most likely to struggle with loneliness.

Mental and Physical Effects

• Loneliness can have an effect on a person's mental and physical health. This condition can lead to feeling extremely depressed and in some cases cause people to commit suicide. Research from the University of Missouri reported that when a person feels lonely, his blood pressure rises, and conditions like arthritis and diabetes become worse. Chronic loneliness also causes social awkwardness and weakened social skills along with difficulty focusing and concentrating and sleep dysfunction.

Coping With Loneliness

• People have different ways of coping with loneliness. According to the Handbook of Disabilities from the University of Missouri, pets are effective in treating feelings of loneliness. Pets serve as animal companions for people and keep them company and increase social skills and self-esteem. Comfort food is also often used to alleviate loneliness. Research by the Association of Psychological Science showed that comfort foods make people feel less lonely because it reminds them of spending time with loved ones. A 2008 article in the University of Chicago Chronicle reported that lonely people also create humanlike connections to things like electronic gadgets and become more interested in the supernatural to feel less lonely.