Relationships: The Power of Togetherness

Do you know anybody who might be lonely this week?

Social isolation has a significant negative effect on our health and well-being. 

We are meant to live in groups, share emotions, converse and be in physical contact with each other.

Modern living, society and the recent pandemic all precipitate an increase in social isolation. Loneliness is seen by many as one of the largest health concerns we face. Why?
Here are the facts. Loneliness increases the risk of:

• Death by 26%

• Is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day

• Is worse than obesity and associated with higher risk of heart disease

• Leads to depression, mental health, and suicide

• Is associated with early dementia.

This Christmas, many of us will indulge in food, the comfort of those around us, and the warmth of our homes.

Could we spare some of our time to reach out to those in our families who are going to be alone this Christmas? 

What can we do? Is the issue too big for us to be able to make a difference?

1. Be aware of the problem, talk about it, post about it. 

A problem shared is often a problem halved.

2. Think about a relative, family member who might be at risk of loneliness and reach out to them. It might feel awkward at first.

A simple text message or a 5-minute phone call, could bring the biggest of smiles to the face of a loved one. 

3. Physical contact has a powerful effect: It has been hard due to the pandemic, but we need to be returning to some normality.

Touch is the sense we take most for granted, but we miss it when it’s gone. Psychologists have a term for the feelings of deprivation and abandonment we experience: “skin hunger”.

The tender touch of others is now known to boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, decrease the level of stress hormones such as cortisol and trigger the release of the same kind of opiates as painkilling drugs. 

Premature babies gain weight when rubbed lightly from head to foot. 

Massages reduce pain in pregnant women. People with dementia who are hugged and stroked are less prone to irritability and depression.

The health benefits for those at risk of loneliness will be as significant as for you. In my practice as a GP today, I was consoling a crying carer, who had lost an elderly client. He was heartbroken by the loss and most of all by the emptiness and the vacant need to care…

Look out for others this Christmas, a small gesture from you could be the grandest gesture to someone else.

Would you like to find out more about the Lantern Clinic? You can book a FREE discovery call with Dr Margarita below.