Have you seen the anti-smoking billboards lately? They’re really good.
My favorite is the one of the Marlboro Man and another cowboy riding off into the sunset on their horses. “I miss my lung, Bob,” Marlboro Man says.
We really have come a long way, Baby.
Except maybe we haven’t — come a long way. Because we’ve got another epidemic destroying our health just as badly as smoking, but it has no ad campaign.
Most of us don’t even know about it. Maybe because it’s quiet. Invisible. Maybe because it doesn’t make you smell like smoke.
Maybe because it can be an embarrassing condition to admit.
The condition?
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Loneliness.
Yep, loneliness.
Chances are, when we hear the word, we picture an unapproachable, unlikeable, or socially awkward person. Or maybe someone confined to a room in a nursing home.
But we must be careful. Such caricaturizations can mislead, causing us to conclude,
“Me? Lonely? Why, impossible! I’ve got friends.”
We might even get more specific with our rebuttal:
“I interact with people all the time at work. I had lots of friends in college. I’m likeable / smart / attractive / funny / educated / married / in a large family. Lonely? No way. Not me.”
But if we take the definition of loneliness to simply mean we’d like more connection in our lives, then a lot of us would probably respond with a more receptive,
“Absolutely! That’s definitely me.” (That’s what I said too).
Truth is, this new health epidemic affects those who are likeable, employed, intelligent, attractive, funny, educated, married, and in large families just as much as those who aren’t.
Important to note also is that people who are lonely almost always have friends.
How Loneliness Impacts Our Health
Now that we’ve clarified that loneliness really means having less connection than we desire, what health problems can we expect if we’re lonely?
– If we’re lonely, we risk dying prematurely.
– Loneliness is as damaging to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
– If we’re lonely, we’re more likely to have high blood pressure, suffer heart attacks, and strokes.
– If we’re lonely, we’re more likely to experience anxiety and depression.
– Loneliness is connected to higher stress levels, a depressed immune system, and disrupted sleep.
– Being lonely encourages overeating and alcohol consumption.
– People who are lonely have an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.
If that’s not enough to send you scrambling to schedule a coffee date with that acquaintance you’ve always wanted to be friends with, you know how research continually emphasizes the calamitous health impact of obesity, alcoholism, and lack of exercise?
Well guess what condition takes just as bad of a toll on our health as each of each of those?
You guessed it.
In fact, loneliness actually affects our mortality risk more than obesity and lack of exercise.
Why We’re Lonely
There are numerous reasons the average American is prone to feeling lonely these days. More miles between people and their extended families. Social media. Fewer face-to-face gatherings with friends and neighbors. Less involvement in faith, civic, and personal-interest organizations.
Plus, when we go through various life transitions — graduating from college, getting married, dating someone, leaving a place of employment, going to a different place of worship, divorce, having children — it’s not uncommon to lose frequency of contact with some friends, which can increase our risk for loneliness.
Nurses Have Extra Loneliness Challenges
Working 12-hour shifts, overnights, and holidays means missing all kinds of opportunities to meet people or connect more with those you know and love. Although you can usually orient immediate family gatherings around your schedule, the rest of the world isn’t as likely to arrange its church picnics, family reunions, religious holidays, weddings, small group meetings, baby showers, and meetups around your schedule.
Some nurses are required to work mandatory overtime, and others are requested to pick up extra shifts — at times with little notice. Nothing to hamper efforts to connect with people like last-minute cancellations.
Additionally, after a physically, mentally, and relationally demanding shift is over, you can be so exhausted that the last thing you want to do is to be around people, even if it does help cultivate deeper connections and stronger friendships.
Loneliness-proofing our lives can be challenging. However, given the assessment and management skills nurses have, there’s every reason to believe this new health epidemic will not find a warm environment in which it can multiply in the nursing community.