LONELY IN A CROWD

ChinmayaIAS Academy - Current Affairs May 26, 2023 GS2, Social sector Leave a comment 199 Views

Manasvi Khandelwal talks about the loneliness that has stayed with her for a few months now, ever since she moved to Atlanta, the United States, after her wedding. “My husband and I are in a very happy relationship,” she says. “But there is some sense of grief because we are so far away from family and friends,” says Ms. Khandelwal.
Afew weeks ago, the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, in an 81-page report, called loneliness an epidemic. “Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking up to 15 cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually,” it said. In an Associated Press interview, he compared loneliness to hunger or thirst “a feeling the body sends us when something we need for survival is missing.” “Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows, and that’s not right.”
Loneliness isn’t just an American phenomenon. In India, which calls itself a collectivist society, promoting interdependence and cooperation, with 1.4 billion people and a population density of470 per sq km(America has a density of 36 people; the world 60 as per 2020 World Bank data), it doesn’t seem likely that people could be lonely. Yet, they are.
In a study ‘What causes loneliness among household heads: a study based in primary setting in Mumbai, India’,published last year inBMC Public Health, 7% of respondents often felt lonely, while 21% had sometimes felt lonely in the week preceding the study.Another study, ‘A review of loneliness in Indian youth’, published in 2020 inThe International Journal of Indian Psychology,says that while reliable statistics on loneliness in an Indian context do not exist, there is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that it is dangerously at our doorstep.
“We are not short of people (in India), but we are often short of the understanding that community and connection are what keeps you healthy and happy,” believesBengaluru-based psychiatrist Dr. Roshan Jain, a de-addiction specialist working at Apollo Hospitals. “Loneliness has significantly gone up among Indians, and it is going to become a bigger problem.”

India, like the world

There are multiple facets to loneliness, points out Dr Alok Kulkarni, senior consultant psychiatrist at Manas Institute of Mental Health, Hubli, adding that these range from feeling empty and abandoned to the lack of perceived intimacy. “The emotional aspects of loneliness include sadness, melancholy, frustration, shame or desperation,” he says. “This may be accompanied by self-doubt, low self-esteem, and social anxiety.”
The loneliness of an ageing population has been studied in the west and acknowledged in India. With the dissolution of the joint family structure that leaves the elderly isolated, the death of loved ones, children leaving home, retirement, and battling multiple health conditions, big life changes — some that come together — can bring on loneliness.
But it’s also hitting India’s considerable youth (15 to 29 years) population of 27.2% (figures recently released by the government’s National Statistical Office). Like seniors, it’s major life changes because of which many younger adults report loneliness as the most painful part of their lives, says Preeti Singh, senior consultant, clinical psychology and psychotherapy, and the chief medical officer at Lissun, a Gurugram-headquartered mental health startup. “Weare more global than ever, which makes us travel more physically across the world, towns, the cities,” says Singh, pointing out that people who move away from their roots, often struggle to adapt and fit in these newer, different cultures.

Loss and loneliness

“Stressful life events like bereavement, break-ups, and immigration are associated with loneliness,” says Dr. Kulkarni. He adds that low social connectedness, inadequate support network, low sense of belonging and psychological vulnerability are other important factors.
Aparnaa Nagesh, 40, an independent art professional in Bengaluru still remembers the crippling loneliness she felt when lost her mother in June 2021 to COVID. “It felt like something out of a space odyssey movie, where I was just floating around. I was just so lost for almost a year,” remembers Ms Nagesh.
While Dr. Kulkarni does suggest some common-sensical preliminary measures such asreaching out to family and friends, joining local groups of classes, volunteering, spending time outdoors and exercising, he is clear about reaching out to a mental health professional. Ms Nagesh, who has struggled with depression, has worked with two therapists, and says she has benfited. “I think especially if you live alone and have trauma and grief in your baggage it is important to get therapy,” she says.
Loss doesn’t necessarily mean a demise in the family; it could also be a significant life change. According to Dr. Jain, many older people, for instance, experience intense loneliness after they retire, or their children move away.
Then there are long-term problems of which loneliness can form one part. “The LGBT community is increasingly feeling isolated and lonely due to lower social ties and lower levels of social integration,” says Dr. Kulkarni, adding that people who have experienced physical and or sexual abuse are likely to feel lonely, as are those who are already dealing with mental health problems such as substance misuse, depression, and dementia.

The nature of work

With the opening up of the job market to include freelance and gig work, people turn to the internet for connection and community. Mumbai-based artist Indu Harikumar, 43, was an early adapter to the internet, turning to it for both social connections and work. “I wouldn’t have thought of having some of the conversations offline, that I would have in an online space,” she says, adding that, “At some point, I forgot that I needed the physical connection.”
The omnipresence of the internet, which often creates a reality more potent than the natural world, means that people turn to it for many things: to forge communities, work smarter, find love, acquire new objects, entertain, or connect with loved ones many continents away. And yet, as multiple studies have proved, there is a strong correlation between high internet use and loneliness.
Over time, loneliness can end up impacting both mental and physical health.“Loneliness is associated with many psychiatric disorders, such as depression, sleep disorders, personality disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease,” says Dr. Kulkarni, adding that chronic loneliness can also turn on genes that cause inflammation. It is also associated with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, coronary heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and cancer. In short, it portends poorer health outcomes, he adds.
He firmly believes that loneliness needs to be tackled at a social and policy level. “In the elderly steps could include social skills training, fostering community support groups, creating age-friendly communities, and framing policies that address marginalisation and discrimination,” he says. He also believes that it is important to promoteinclusive behaviour, promote school mental health, and design mental health training modules for teachers as part of psychological first aid.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB

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