Loneliness in Covid19

The following times are of covid 19 and the times are particularly difficult. While Covid 19 has proved to be a cruel disease biologically with the vaccine not coming out, on the mental level the disease has proved to be deadly, with limiting number of people and their movements Covid19 has single handedly increased depression, anxiety, loneliness and other mental issues and disorders, single handedly we have realized how powerful the human brain is.

While I cannot pinpoint that everyone has got into the grip of loneliness, I can surely say that Covid 19 has made an impact on everyone’s social life, and this feeling has kicked in for a lot of people, hampering the mental health of a lot of people, with WHO the effect of this pandemic it is clear that this year has been tough for all of us.

But then, how to say that loneliness is affecting us widely, and actually creating a negative impact. In other words how can a person say that he or she is feeling lonely.

There are a set of characteristics that justify the fact that the person is facing loneliness interrupts with the well being of the person. The UCLA loneliness scale asks a few questions in this respect, which includes- Do you feel the lack of companionship? Do you feel in tune with the people around you? Are you outgoing and friendly? Do you turn to people in need? Do you feel the need for connecting and outreach? If one answers these questions one can surely say if he or she feels lonely. Other features like quality of good relationships, authenticity with close ones and absence of social people in life shows if we actually feel lonely.

Very sure that this is the major features of loneliness it does pose a very serious threat to the person who suffers, sometimes even leading to psychological issues such as anxiety or depression. Humans are social animals and hence it is our innate need to connect with others, so that we can share. But the effects of loneliness are deadly, on a psychologicAl level loneliness can make a person sick and can even send the person in loop of sadness.

There is also a negativity bias that exists in such cases. The ones who feel lonely inherently thinks that he or she is not welcomed and is unable to share emotions and views and if he or she tries to do so the person won’t be welcomed. While this is just the psychological aspect, there are physical consequences too. Loneliness can lead to alcohol abuse, antisocial behaviour, cardiovascular issues, decreased memory, depression, suicide, stress and poor decesion making to name a few. The effects on physical front are deadly too and can range from physical issues such as bad diet, little or no activity, disturbed sleep, premature ageing to long term diseases like diabetes, blood pressure etc.

While the reasons of loneliness are diverse, one of the major causes of loneliness is the pandemic, which has almost closed everyone in their rooms, people are left out with no other option than to suffer through their own thoughts. The pandemic has been extremely tough for people living alone, other than this many have lost Jobs, others happen to face conflicts in relationship which makes the already existing case worse. It is also very much visible that the amount or number of suicides have increased in the past few months. Other major reasons of loneliness are big life events that may take up a toll on a person such as changing places, divorce, depression and low self esteem, with the pandemic all of these had already grown. Here let me put forward the fact that there is a part of the population that prefers to be alone. Now, this is solitude, where a person is isolated according to his own will and this helps to rejuvenate during this time period,this happens to be very different from loneliness and is needed for freshness.

Solutions are always simple, but the major part of the solution is its implementation. One must have the courage to confront self and others that they do feel lonely and need a way out of it. Hence, talking about your situation specially to near and dear ones, to your parents and partner to be precise can be very helpful most of the time our near and dear ones will extend a hand of help towards us and we will feel rejuvenated.

Other than this, exercise will help with release of stress and any form of loneliness, working out with someone will help create a bond between two people, along with this any form of charity will help instill a positive feeling and ward off any form of negative feelings that come to mind. Changing small habits like eating with family can ease out the tension of loneliness. And most importantly the negativity bias needs to be dissolved, one needs to look for people who actually care and realize that their loved and dear ones are always ready to give a hand for help. Another way out is taking up some work, either online or offline, this will help to shift the focus of attention and finally promote well being.

Hence, concluding this all of us need to handle the situation appropriately so as to lessen down the effect of loneliness

References

1.https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/loneliness-during-coronavirus

2. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02219/full