UK charity calls to end loneliness stigma

Lack of social interaction can lead to physical and mental health issues

Kali is a third-year university student living in Nottingham in the United Kingdom. She has a large group of friends and family and is confident in social situations but, despite this, has been feeling isolated.

Rather than speaking about her feelings, Kali, who preferred not to give her full name, retreated into herself and started spending more time at home. She felt as if others mistook her seclusion as strength and independence.

Bristol charity Marmalade Trust, which is committed to raising awareness of loneliness issues, believes reducing the stigma around loneliness is a fundamental starting point. The charity says it is a common misconception that loneliness is something people experience as they get older because it affects all ages and walks of life.

"For so long, I've struggled to decide what this feeling is; this numb ache that seems to have no cure. I wonder how I got here. I want community, I want family, I want love," Kali says.

Many charities want to tackle the stigma attached to loneliness, which is often the reason why people do not talk about how they feel.

While there may be many barriers to overcome, Marmalade Trust is encouraging people to open up about their feelings and not to bottle up their emotions.

"I find it quite ironic how most of us go through loneliness but decide not to confide in each other. It's more than a feeling but a strange unhealthy habit to be broken," Kali said, adding that after some time she decided to channel her feelings into a video that helped her identify and express her emotions. "I hope through sharing my experience, someone else like me can see that they are not alone in their circumstances."

Andrea Wigfield, director of the Centre for Loneliness Studies at the University of Sheffield, told China Daily: "Loneliness may be more widespread than reported which can, in part, be explained by the associated stigma. Research commissioned by the British Red Cross and Co-op has suggested that approximately one-fifth of the UK population are always or often lonely, over 9 million people in the UK across all adult ages."

While older people are particularly at risk of being lonely, with 4 of the 9 million lonely people in the UK estimated to be elderly, Wigfield said other at-risk groups include young people, people with health conditions, people who have recently divorced or separated, new mothers, people who have recently retired, and those who have been made redundant or unemployed.

As part of Loneliness Awareness Week, which fell in the UK between June 17 and June 21, the UK government launched a new campaign, Let's Talk Loneliness, to encourage people to speak out and tackle the stigma associated with feeling alone.

According to new research from YouGov, 75 percent of people aged 18 to 24 have felt lonely while, among those aged 55 and over, 63 percent have never felt lonely.

The poll of 2,114 people aged 18 and over, also found 25 percent of adults have reported feeling lonely on weekends.

Amy Perrin, founder of Marmalade Trust, believes that key to feeling better about loneliness is changing the way we think, talk, and feel about it.

"People rarely talk about loneliness, despite this being a common feeling. When people do talk about it, they often refer to loneliness in a negative way-saying it is something that is 'suffered from' or 'I admit it, I'm lonely'," Perrin said. "We believe loneliness should not be seen as a negative, shameful or hopeless thing and educate people to see loneliness as a blank canvas on which they can fill their lives with new friends and experiences."

Nearly 74 percent of people said when they felt lonely, they did not tell anyone despite most having someone they could count on.

Some studies have shown loneliness can be as damaging to health as obesity and has a similar negative impact to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Other research suggests that loneliness is likely to increase the risk of death by 29 percent.

"Loneliness can have a range of negative health implications, such as the loss of hope and energy, a greater risk of cardio-vascular disorder, elevated blood pressure, dementia, depression, and increased mortality rate," Wigfi eld said.

In efforts to tackle the problem, the government is partnering with the Co-op Foundation to match-fund a new 1.6-million-pound ($2 million) initiative that supports activity in community spaces to promote social connections.

Mims Davies, the UK's minister for loneliness, said: "Loneliness is one of the biggest health challenges our country faces. It can affect anyone at any time and its impact is in line with smoking or obesity. But we can only begin to help one another if we feel able to understand, recognize and talk about it."