A particular statement caught my eye as I read a Surgeon General’s report recently:
“The lack of social connection poses a significant risk for individual health and longevity. Loneliness and social isolation increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29%, respectively. More broadly, lacking social connection can increase the risk for premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.”
Now I know why, at my annual Medicare wellness check-up, my doctor asks if I am depressed or anxious.
The 2023 report from the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” presents research on incidents and causes of loneliness and isolation in the United States. It also offers suggestions on how various entities of our society can address this epidemic.
As I read the report, I wondered where I would fall on the spectrum of social isolation to social connection. I am 90 years old and live in an apartment complex for seniors, sharing it with a couple of hundred older adults, and I am acutely aware of many in our community who are lonely. They stay in their apartments 24/7, interrupted only by walking to get their mail or take out the trash. They have few visitors and do not interact with many of their neighbors. Our community would rank high on a scale measuring loneliness.
I am retired from a 60-year career, during which I was actively engaged in social activities daily. In those days, I would be considered an extrovert. However, today that assessment might be different. Due to failing eyesight, I struggle to recognize faces until I am close, which means I tend to withdraw to the side of the room during coffee hours after worship, and some might perceive me as unfriendly. Also, a decline in my cognitive ability makes conversation more challenging than it used to be. I am a good candidate to be included among the more than 25% of Americans who experience chronic loneliness.
However, I don’t see myself as either lonely or socially isolated. I occasionally meet with friends for breakfast or coffee. I am part of a small group at church that meets monthly for lunch. I volunteer in the literacy program of our local library, where I meet with José, who is from El Salvador, every Friday morning to help him with his English speaking, reading and writing skills. We have become good friends after three years of meeting weekly. I volunteer with my wife and daughter in a non-profit we helped to found called Kids Bike Lane. In 2024, our small group of volunteers provided more than 800 new bikes and helmets for underserved children in our county and a neighboring county.
I thank God daily that I live in an age where technology has helped me overcome any tendency toward loneliness. The internet, email and text messages keep me socially connected, and I follow several YouTube channels that cater primarily to the adventurous type. I enjoy accompanying them vicariously as they embark on their adventures. Although I can no longer read a printed page, I have downloaded the Audible app to my iPhone and listened to 32 books in the past year. My areas of interest are biography, autobiography and American history, and listening daily to books helps me feel connected to important personalities and historical events.
Based upon my experience, it seems that to avoid being among the 25% of chronically lonely persons in our nation, one needs to seek social connections in person or vicariously, volunteer in meaningful activities and find ways to compensate for one’s physical limitations. And while churches can play a significant role in helping their parishioners overcome loneliness, it will require more than affirming that we are a welcoming church. It will require a commitment from many to find ways to provide social connection during the week and on Sundays.
The surgeon general’s report states, “Social connection is a fundamental human need, as essential to survive as food, water and shelter.”
What steps can we take to help people overcome loneliness?
