Kashish Sharma
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Written By: Kashish Sharma | Published : January 9, 2023 10:04 PM IST
Loneliness can happen due to many reasons such as a change of place, a change of career, ending a relationship, working from home, or living alone for the first time
Loneliness is necessarily not about being alone but it means lacking a sense of connection to other people. While loneliness has often been associated as a cultural or psychological concept but studies are showing that it might greatly impact physical health. There is growing evidence that social isolation can make a person ill or more prone to it. As per reports, loneliness not only can make a person more susceptible to illness but the person also lies at the risk of developing diseases that might be fatal.
Some studies have shown that people who are socially isolated can develop changes in their immune response, they can become more prone to infections and can also lead to chronic inflammation that further contributes to many conditions like heart diseases.
When a person is lonely, they lack a human connection and this can have dramatic effects on their body and mind. Some health reports have shown that if a person is lonely for four years or more, their blood pressure is likely to shoot up. Their ability to remember things or memorize has also been observed to reduce with time. Studies have also shown an increased risk of premature death among people who might be chronically lonely.
Research has shown that in lonely people, changes can occur at the genetic level. Loneliness can change the activity of genes associated with inflammation and immune response. One's immune response can thus change towards viruses and other pathogens.
In a study conducted on lonely monkeys, the researchers observed that when these monkeys were exposed to the simian immunodeficiency virus (the equivalent of HIV), the virus grew quickly in their brains and blood. Some scientists have compared loneliness to obesity. According to them, just like obesity, loneliness can also cause chronic changes and increase the likelihood of early death.
Loneliness can happen due to many reasons such as a change of place, a change of career, ending a relationship, working from home, or living alone for the first time. One must remember that loneliness is not the same as aloneness and one can feel it even in a big group. It is the emotional deprivation of a deep connection with other human beings. The following are some signs of chronic loneliness-
