Loneliness wreaks havoc on everything from heart health to how we experience social interactions.
We’ve never been more concerned with our health. From breathwork to tackle anxiety, journaling to combat overwhelm, diets to preserve our youth, and blue light glasses to protect our eyes from screens, we’re obsessed with scrutinizing every aspect of our own minds and bodies to optimize our wellness. Yet one of the most critical influences on our mental and physical health involves looking outwards — and we ignore it at our peril.
Loneliness has cast a shadow over Americans, and it’s only getting worse. More than a third of people in the U.S. report feeling “serious loneliness,” and while that’s clearly concerning on its own, it’s also likely that many are suffering ill effects that they’re yet to associate with their isolated state.
We’ve dug into the harmful impacts of loneliness that you may be missing, and reveal just how codependent our mental and physical health actually are.
The physical effects of loneliness are no joke
Loneliness has been associated with all sorts of negative health outcomes, some of which can be incredibly serious. According to Terry Randolph, a licensed professional counselor and chief program officer at Pyx Health, a healthcare technology company focused on loneliness, lonely people are about 26 percent more likely to die early, rising to 45 percent for seniors aged 65 and older suffering from loneliness. The reasons for this are complicated and can involve a tricky interplay between our physical and mental health.
“Studies have shown that individuals who experience loneliness have a higher risk of dying prematurely,” explains Shoshana Ungerleider, MD, host of the TED Health podcast. “In terms of our cardiovascular health, loneliness has been linked to increased blood pressure thanks to increased levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. It’s also linked to a higher heart rate and cholesterol levels, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.”
As Dr. Ungerleider adds, loneliness has also been linked to alterations in the immune system, making lonely people more susceptible to illness and infection. If you’ve noticed that you’re more likely to indulge in greasy foods or spend an entire weekend in front of the TV when you’re alone than when you’re distracted by friends or family, you won’t be surprised to learn that loneliness can lead to unhealthy habits, like exercising less (or not at all) and eating a lower-quality diet, both of which can contribute to high blood pressure. Every negative effect tends to trigger another one, meaning that our resulting health issues have the potential to escalate significantly.
“Loneliness has effects on the cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and central nervous systems as well as genetic mechanisms and mental health,” says Randolph. “This can result in a higher risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, and cognitive decline — plus increased ER visits and inpatient readmissions.”
Essentially, loneliness impacts our minds and bodies from top to bottom. Once one system has been affected, the odds are higher that another will be too.
The impact of loneliness on our mental health
Our mental and physical health are intrinsically linked — some might even argue they’re one and the same, and most of us intuitively understand that loneliness impacts mental health. Humans are social creatures, and it stands to reason that if we aren’t able to function as such, we’ll feel less happy, and potentially even become depressed. In fact, the effects of loneliness on our mood and even our cognitive functions can go far deeper.
“Social relationships, the quality of them, and our belief patterns around them are a key aspect of psychological well-being and our ability to flourish as a species,” explains Randolph.
Our instinctive need to belong is as fundamental as the need for food, water, and shelter. Research and experience indicate that perceived social isolation (PSI) — i.e., loneliness — is a risk factor for the decline of cognitive function. This can impact our brain’s executive functions — the skills we need to plan ahead, focus, exercise self-control, and follow directions — increase negativity, and lead to depression. What’s more, the negative effects of loneliness on our brains can tip us into a destructive, self-perpetuating cycle that makes seeking the connections that might make us feel less lonely far more difficult.
“In the lonely state, the brain is misreading social signals that it should read normally,” explains Randolph. “Someone who’s lonely perceives every person they encounter as a threat. Lonely people often misread a facial expression or tone of voice — characterizing curiosity as hostility, for instance — and gradually develop a distorted reality about the social world around them.”
This unconscious sense of menace can lead to a behavioral cycle in which a lonely person, in a mistaken attempt at self-protection, sends out signals of disinterest or even hostility, which in turn causes others to withdraw. This amplifies the sufferer’s loneliness, leading to further feelings of sadness, isolation, and depression. Then, this cycle can trigger the release of stress hormones in that person’s body, causing further physical symptoms that can worsen their situation.
“Feelings of loneliness can also disrupt sleep patterns, increase stress levels, and lead to a lack of social support,” explains Dr. Ungerleider. “This can exacerbate symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
The changes in the brain’s functions caused by loneliness include alterations in neurotransmitter levels which contribute to depression and anxiety. This means that once someone is trapped in a cycle of loneliness, they’re extremely vulnerable to further decline in their mental health.
What if loneliness isn’t your only problem?
As is the case with all mental health issues, treating loneliness becomes far more complicated when the sufferer is already dealing with another serious concern. Ryan Peterson, MD, is a recovered drug addict, and loneliness made getting sober far harder than it might otherwise have been — a pattern he’s seen replicated many times in his patients.
“During my recovery and rehab journey, I struggled with loneliness and it made progress very slow,” Dr. Peterson explains. “I’ve seen this in my patients, too. Recent studies in the addiction field have revealed that loneliness (both emotional and social) can lead to negative outcomes in people with substance dependence disorder.”
As Dr. Peterson notes, the feeling of lonesomeness can be stronger in people with substance abuse disorder because they already have a sense that they’re different or their illness may have strained their relationships with family and friends. This “magnifies” their existing drive to participate in dangerous high-risk behaviors and abuse more drugs, hampering recovery, Dr. Peterson warns.
“I always had pervasive thoughts of ‘being different’ from my family and friends because of my drug abuse back then,” Dr. Peterson says. “It was how the loneliness manifested in me. I could have all my loved ones in the room reassuring me that they understood, but I knew deep in my heart and mind that they didn’t. The loneliness persisted because I felt that they couldn’t relate or understand what I was going through.”
How can we combat the negative effects of loneliness?
Loneliness is often overlooked as a cause of poor mental health. We have a tendency to see loneliness as a relatively simple problem with a correspondingly simple solution: Just be around more people. The reality is that combating loneliness and its effects needs a more sophisticated approach.
Loneliness, which encompasses an intensely personal experience of rejection, and disconnection “produces a pain as real as any caused by a physical injury and has an impact on brain chemistry and functioning,” says Randolph. “These effects require targeted treatment strategies to reverse those effects. We are only just beginning to understand the devastating impacts of loneliness and the need to treat it as a mental health condition.”
Such strategies, Randolph says, can include positive psychology interventions (PPIs) that offer a set of scientific tools that focus on increasing happiness, well-being, and positive cognitions and emotions. These techniques have been proven to address the negative thought patterns associated with loneliness and create serotonin in the brain. This allows the lonely person to increase social connections, and engage in activities that can make lasting changes to their individual and social well-being.
And you don’t need a zillion friends to achieve this — it’s about quality, not quantity. “It’s important to focus on developing a meaningful connection to someone,” Randolph says. “A small intimate social circle can be the most beneficial to decrease the feelings of social isolation. When we know that someone really sees us and that we can trust them, it benefits our mental and even physical health.”
Looking back, Dr. Peterson acknowledges that a structured approach would have made the world of difference.
“I think checking myself into a structured sober living community would have helped me feel not so alone and recover faster,” he says. “Our structured sober living communities at NuView Treatment Center are safe spaces for men to connect with fellow recovering addicts on their way to sobriety. I only had family and friends who were non-drug abusers to accompany me during my recovery, but if I could go back in time, I think my journey to sobriety could have been a lot faster and more meaningful if I hadn’t felt so alone.”
If you’re suffering from loneliness, there are national mental health helplines that can help. Try the SAMHSA 988 suicide & crisis lifeline, the MANI Helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI, and text “HOME” to the Crisis Textline at 741741.
