09:00 AM
Sunday 27 September 2020
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Agencies
Studies indicate that those with weak social relationships are 50% more likely to die during a given period compared to those with more powerful relationships.
In other words, loneliness appears to be as lethal as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. This is particularly disturbing given that many mental health professionals say that the Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated loneliness and can be called an epidemic of its own, according to Russia Today.
But defining loneliness in yourself and others is not always easy, as it is different from being alone.
Here are seven physical signs of loneliness.
1- Runny nose, congestion and other cold symptoms:
If you do get a cold, loneliness may be at least partially to blame.
Said Babita Spinelli, a psychotherapist in New York City.
And Corey Floyd, a professor of communications at the University of Arizona who studies how affection affects stress and physiological functions: “When we feel lonely, we lack the ability to interact with people in familiar and comfortable ways, and we feel vulnerable, threatened and attacked.”
As a result, he noted, we have become “very vigilant,” which among other problems leads to suppression of our immune system and could make us vulnerable to disease.
2- A disease that you cannot get rid of:
A healthy body and mind can recover from a cold. Babita Spinelli, a psychotherapist in New York City, said a person who has been lonely may get sick again and again.
“The individual may feel sick or constantly stressed and not link it to loneliness. They may define this as recurring physical illness without looking at whether something is happening emotionally,” she said.
3- Difficulty sleeping:
Loneliness can coincide with symptoms of depression, and you may share situations such as difficulty sleeping or sleeping a lot.
4- Headache:
Headache can be a symptom of depression and loneliness. The biggest difference between the two is that the first is a mental health condition while the second is a “transient emotional state.”
5- A constant state of discomfort:
Depriving you of meaningful social connections doesn’t make you feel good and makes you constantly unhappy and upset, because your body is trying to tell you that you need to socialize in order to survive in the long term, according to Julian Holt Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University.
6- Weight gain:
In the same way that loneliness can trigger an ongoing stress or flight response that weakens the immune system, Spinelli said, this hormonal disruption can also lead to weight gain.
7.Continue checking on social media:
Although it is not a physical symptom, in and of itself, some behaviors including constant checking on social media and “using it as a substitute for communication is also a red flag of loneliness.”
To deal with loneliness, make use of digital tools
Hult Lunstad told Business Insider that tools like FaceTime and Skype “may help mitigate some of those unpleasant short-term responses to help us feel and maintain these connections” in situations such as a pandemic that limits personal social interaction.
Lunstad noted that reaching out to others and asking what they are doing promotes mental as well as physical health.
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