Ending loneliness, one smile at a time
Studies indicate we’re in a loneliness epidemic and it’s not just affecting seniors.
What to do if you feel lonely
There are things we can do to feel less lonely, and in turn, live a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life.
You can search the Ending Loneliness Together resources including a national directory to find groups, organisations and services that will help you, or someone you know, connect with others and build meaningful relationships.
If you need help, call:
Lifeline 13 11 14
Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
Men’s Line 1300 789 978
Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
What is persistent social isolation?
It is defined as having infrequent social contact for at least eight weeks. Social isolation is having objectively few social relationships, social roles, group memberships, and infrequent social interaction.
What can you do?
Actively listen, show you're engaged and give others your full attention.
Be kind by offering help and support, which can build more meaningful connections.
Go offline and nurture relationships in the non-digital world.
Reconnect, it's never too late to reach out to old friends.
Source: Ending Loneliness Together
While it may not be surprising that older Australians have been found to be among the nation’s most socially isolated and loneliest, people aged 18 to 24 and people in remote areas are also disproportionately affected.
In fact, younger people are the loneliest age group.
That is a key finding of the State of the Nation 2023 report and a follow up study – Why we feel lonely – by a government-funded group, Ending Loneliness Together.
The reports found one-third of Australians feel lonely some or all of the time, which is up from one in four people feeling lonely prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A nationally representative sample of 4,026 Australians aged 18 to 92 were surveyed. Of this sample, 2,063 people participated in a second survey, and out of the second sample, 1,489 people participated in the third and final survey.
Ending Loneliness Together found loneliness was estimated to cost the Australian economy $2.7 billion per year. Australians who feel lonely are:
4 times more likely to have chronic disease
4.6 times more likely to have depression
4.1 times more likely to have social anxiety
5.2 times more likely to have poorer wellbeing.
Addressing a parliamentary inquiry into loneliness, Ending Loneliness Together chair, Michelle Lim, said, “Loneliness is bad for health and wellbeing, but when we actually have those persistent states, or more chronic states, that's where we actually exacerbate our incidence of high mortality and increase our risk to developing future health problems.”
Dr Lim said loneliness is highly prevalent but widely misunderstood, and common misconceptions about loneliness are that it only affects older people, and that you must be alone to be lonely.
“But loneliness affects anyone and everyone, from all ages and backgrounds,” she said.
“Loneliness is more about how connected you feel to the people in your life, rather than how many people you have. You can be surrounded by friends or family and still feel lonely.
“Because loneliness is so misunderstood and stigmatised, when people feel lonely, they aren’t sure how to resolve it or where to go to connect with others.
“And likewise, health professionals seeing people who are lonely don’t know where people can go to get connected. Our need to connect with others is a part of being human. We need connection to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.”
The Why Feel Lonely report focused on identifying who remains lonely for a long time – allowing researchers and policy makes to understand who in the community requires more ongoing attention and support.
Persistent loneliness is recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the next public health priority, with a three-year-long commission into how solutions can be scaled up beginning this year.
The issue also gained traction last year after the United States Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, labelled it a “crisis” at “epidemic” levels in the US.
Evidence indicates that longer experiences of loneliness (as opposed to shorter episodic or transient experiences) can lead to poorer health outcomes and earlier mortality.
This type of loneliness and social isolation remain neglected and poorly targeted by medical practice and policy, the report suggests.
Young people aged 18-24 are at the highest risk of persistent loneliness. People aged 35-44 are at the highest risk of persistent social isolation.
Financial wellbeing can contribute to persistent loneliness and social isolation. When compared with people whose financial needs are very well met, people whose financial needs are poorly met are nearly seven times more likely to be persistently lonely and nearly five times more likely to be persistently socially isolated.
Men and women are equally at risk of persistent loneliness, but men are more likely to experience persistent social isolation.
People with chronic health conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, and cancer are 1.5 times more likely to experience persistent loneliness when compared with people with no chronic health conditions. People with mental health conditions like social anxiety and depression are 2.9 times more likely to experience persistent loneliness when compared with people with no mental health conditions.
The report recommendations can be read here.
Related reading: Ending Loneliness, ABC
