Loneliness as an Epidemic
Erin Evans, M.Ed., LPCA, NCC
I saw a post online the other day about a little girl whose parents threw a birthday party for her, only for no one to show up. Seeing her alone in the middle of a decorated room in a party hat with the heartbreak clear on her face, I hurt with her. As anyone who has ever experienced them knows, exclusion, rejection, and let down cut sharply and deeply. The more they happen, the more intense a crushing sense of loneliness grows.
Recent data has confirmed “loneliness” as an emerging epidemic. A study commissioned by health insurance provider Cigna found that 58% of adults reported significant loneliness as of December 2021, with some groups reporting event higher rates of loneliness—
75% of Hispanic adults
68% of Black/African American adults
63% of adults earning less than $50,000/year
72% of people receiving Medicaid
79% of adults aged 18-24
65% of parents and guardians--69% of mothers/62% of fathers; 77% of single parents
The social injury correlates to higher rates of additional health concerns. For one, people experiencing loneliness are more likely to experience physical health challenges like sleep issues, weight problems, dementia, substance abuse, et cetera. Additionally, they have a higher likelihood of receiving a mental health diagnosis, experiencing more intense emotional or psychological disturbances, and struggling to combat the condition due to limited support. Furthermore, significant loneliness has also been associated with increased absenteeism and reduced satisfaction + productivity at work. Now imagine how those factors exacerbate each other to snowball within the individual, and then scale that to millions of people and how it snowballs in our society.
Picturing it all and feeling the echoes of that pain, I can’t help but wonder, “How did we get here?”
Logically, I know there’s not simple answer to that question. An array of historical and societal factors collided to create the perfect storm for this phenomenon.
The follow up question, “how do we get out of it?” is equally difficult to answer. As with all journeys to wellness, the path looks different for each person and community.
But if you stay tuned, we’ll dive into the questions to help build understanding of the challenge we face and explore some options to reconnecting.
The Loneliness Epidemic Persists: A Post-Pandemic Look at the State of Loneliness among U.S. Adults | Cigna Newsroom
If you are looking for support with loneliness, feel free to make an appointment with us at [email protected] or by contacting us via phone at (270) 943-7818. You can also learn more about the topics we support by visiting https://www.amandapatrickmft.com/ and clicking on the “Services” tab.