I would like to begin my remarks with a notable quote from Dr. Gabor Mate’s
book, *The Myth of Normal*.
"Imagine, a condition that makes a person irritable, depressed, and
self-centered, and is associated with a 26% increase in the risk of
premature mortality. Imagine too that in industrialized countries around a
third of people are affected by this condition, with one person in 12
affected severely, and that these proportions are increasing. Income,
education, sex, and ethnicity are not protective, and the condition is
contagious. The effects of the condition are not attributable to some
peculiarity of the character of a subset of individuals, *they are a result
of the condition affecting ordinary people*. Such a condition exists —
loneliness."
This quote is from the respected loneliness scholar, the late
neuroscientist John Cacioppo, and his colleague and spouse, Stephania
Cacioppo, from *The Lancet*.
Unfortunately, I would disagree with Tony Waterstone. He describes
loneliness as a ‘wicked' problem that is 'difficult or impossible to solve
because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are
often difficult to recognize'. I believe that we can identify lonely
adolescents or adults and various interventions exist to address loneliness
in both adults and adolescents.
In Andrew Clarke’s wonderful study, he mentions when they analyzed the data
for children that reported loneliness, they found that approximately 31% of
these children also reported self-harm, providing an important proxy
red-flag for community school nurses. So we should address this important
issue.
I believe that establishing meaningful relationships is fundamental to
effective interventions.
Dr. Tecla Ezeonu states that social media and its devices have
significantly contributed to the isolation of youths and adolescents.
Social media and constant connectivity can sometimes deepen feelings of
isolation by creating superficial connections instead of meaningful ones.
So, how do we generate ‘meaningful relationships’ for adolescents?
The first thing that comes to my mind is getting them involved in other’s
people’s lives, getting them involved in causes that larger than themselves
(such as doing National Services…)
I would like to also know about any interventions designed on this issue?
‘Clare Hanbury’s question’
Thank you
Gonca
*: John T Cacioppo and Stephanie Cacioppo, ’’The Growing Problem of Loneliness’’ Volume 391, Issue 10119 P426-427.February 03,2018
CHIFA profile: Gonca Yilmaz is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Society for Social Paediatrics and Child Health. She is a social pediatrician in a training hospital in Ankara, Turkey, and has a postgraduate degree in Social Pediatrics. Her interests include child rights, child abuse and neglect management, well-child and baby care, and infant nutrition. goncay AT gmail.com