An Epidemic of Loneliness is Killing Us
The Surgeon General issues a new warning, along with an antidote, to our unhealthy, deadly culture of separation and isolation
Roughly half of all Americans experience some level of loneliness, and about one-third of people are severely lonely, surveys find. In a new report on the topic, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy slapped a warning label on loneliness, calling it a health-destroying and deadly epidemic as bad as smoking cigarettes.
“People began to tell me they felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant,” Murthy writes in the new 81-page report, which cites dozens of studies on the topic (PDF). “Even when they couldn’t put their finger on the word ‘lonely,’ time and time again, people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, from every corner of the country, would tell me, ‘I have to shoulder all of life’s burdens by myself,’ or ‘if I disappear tomorrow, no one will even notice.’”
While loneliness is real, it’s important to understand that the feeling of loneliness is different than the state of being alone at times — many people crave some solitude, for example. True loneliness involves not just our reality but our perceptions of it — what we expect from others versus what we get, and how we’re affected by isolation.
