Alone vs. lonely (smoking, spouse, vision, sleep)

[Clarallel]

It's a distinction worth thinking about, with so many people dealing with covid lockdown in the last year and a half.


We Need to Understand the Difference Between Isolation and Loneliness
By Kim Tingley

How many close friends and relatives do you have with whom you feel at ease and can discuss private matters? How many of them do you see at least once a month? Do you participate in any groups? These are among the questions on a survey called the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index, which physicians use to determine whether someone is “socially isolated.” People are considered isolated if they have fewer than six confidants, no spouse and no group affiliations. Those conditions make them less likely to report that they have someone they can count on to listen if they need to talk, give advice about a problem or show them love and affection...

Yet how exactly each condition causes its associated health effects is still an open question. Loneliness could increase stress and inflammation, but it can also impair sleep and drive unhealthful behaviors like drinking and smoking, says Lis Nielsen, director of the division of behavioral and social research at the National Institute on Aging. Isolation, on the other hand, might make it harder to access medical care or nutritious foods or to exercise, which could in turn create stress. Men tend to have a greater risk of being socially isolated, whereas women have more risk of being lonely.

We Need to Understand the Difference Between Isolation and Loneliness - Thefiscalcrisis

[Sand&Salt]

The loneliness quotient has been steadily increasing over the decades. Now it's at 46% I just read.

Partly due to increased social media and proliferation of "friends" that are not really, just online acquaintances that just make people feel more isolated. Less and less "real" friends.

England just initiated a "Minister of Loneliness" ! So it's a real phenomena.

[Williepaws]

Interesting link. what the researchers appear to be missing is aloneiness by choice. During the pandemic there was a cartoon on fb - 1st frame, artist painting in studio before pandemic; 2nd frame, artist painting in studio during pandemic; 3rd frame, artist painting in studio after pandemic. All the same frame. Artists spend alot of time alone, so do musicians, marathon runners, people who have alot of animals to take care of or train, any person very dedicated to their hobby/profession or individual sport etc. So while I understand the point the researchers are trying to make, they are ignoring a large grp of people who may be isolated but not lonely. There were good things about the pandemic for people who like being alone and are dedicated to their passions( art, music, animals, running, etc etc)

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by Williepaws

Interesting link. what the researchers appear to be missing is aloneiness by choice. During the pandemic there was a cartoon on fb - 1st frame, artist painting in studio before pandemic; 2nd frame, artist painting in studio during pandemic; 3rd frame, artist painting in studio after pandemic. All the same frame. Artists spend alot of time alone, so do musicians, marathon runners, people who have alot of animals to take care of or train, any person very dedicated to their hobby/profession or individual sport etc. So while I understand the point the researchers are trying to make, they are ignoring a large grp of people who may be isolated but not lonely. There were good things about the pandemic for people who like being alone and are dedicated to their passions( art, music, animals, running, etc etc)

Amen to all that. Didn't read the article, don't care, as it's often as not the same rather strange perspective that you've described that completely misses to boat for (some of us).

I am a loner. No doubt of it, preferring my own company across the decades. My bestie, the booming M-B ENFJ, calls me "the ranger" with more than a hint of condescension; he's right though. Forest tracker, maker of my own path, call it what you will. However: thanks to B-School and my own good sense, I'm presentable and know exactly how to blend in socially. E.g. "fit in" to a team and organization, and get results that people feel good about because they're enrolled/bought in due to my force of will and persuasion (not browbeating). Some of the chumps at work call me a "consensus building" and smooth as glass. I call it leadership. (Probably a few haters too, no one is universally liked and my ego ain't *that* big to believe otherwise.)

The pandemic is a global trainwreck, bummer for civilization. That said I've thrived and prospered like never before, reveling in the so-called "isolation." All hail Teams and Zoom, I'm on them c. 2-4 hrs/day sometimes more and occasionally from dawn to dusk. Works for me! Were it possible I'd pray for permanent masks, cancelation of major events, etc. Yes, not going to happen but we're talking personal preference. There are a fair number of self-selected loners out there...hard to say how many, but it's a real thing. "I think" the Plague is drawing more of us out as a real phenomena, a ho-hum to the alleged "problem" of "isolation." Jeez...

Can't wait for retirement and perhaps moving to a small or mid-sized town. House in suburbia or on just a little land, being left alone by and large. We shall see, Fate has a way of disrupting plans, but this is the dream