Loneliness and isolation hurt whole communities.

The increased risk of premature death associated with social disconnection is comparable to smoking daily - and may be even greater than the risk associated with obesity. So does their risk of heart disease (29 percent), dementia (50 percent), and stroke (32 percent). When people are socially disconnected, their risk of anxiety and depression increases. Loneliness is more than just a bad feeling. This week I am proposing a national framework to rebuild social connection and community in America. We need to acknowledge the loneliness and isolation that millions are experiencing and the grave consequences for our mental health, physical health and collective well-being. But its invisibility is part of what makes it so insidious. One thing is clear: Nearly everyone experiences it at some point. Other times, it’s hard to know how it arose but it’s simply there. Sometimes loneliness is set off by the loss of a loved one or a job, a move to a new city, or health or financial difficulties - or a once-in-a-century pandemic. This includes introverts and extroverts, rich and poor, and younger and older Americans. That’s what happened to me.Īt any moment, about one out of every two Americans is experiencing measurable levels of loneliness. Loneliness - like depression, with which it can be associated - can chip away at your self-esteem and erode your sense of who you are. I found myself increasingly lonely and isolated, and it felt as if I was the only one who felt that way. After my job ended, I felt ashamed to reach out to friends I had ignored. It might not have been so bad had I not made a critical mistake: I had largely neglected my friendships during my tenure, convincing myself that I had to focus on work and I couldn’t do both.Įven when I was physically with the people I loved, I wasn’t present - I was often checking the news and responding to messages in my inbox. I was suddenly disconnected from the colleagues with whom I had spent most of my waking hours. My first stint as surgeon general had just ended. I thought about his story in 2017 when I found myself struggling with loneliness. He soon developed high blood pressure and diabetes. Yet as he sat across from me, he sadly declared, “Winning the lottery was one of the worst things that ever happened to me.” Wealthy but alone, this once vivacious, social man no longer knew his neighbors and had lost touch with his former co-workers. He quit his job and moved into a large house in a gated community. He had worked for years in the food industry with a modest salary and humble lifestyle. A patient of mine once shared with me a most unusual story.

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