The Epidemic Of Loneliness

Loneliness is an epidemic; almost everyone has felt alone at some point or another in their life. Without human connection our health suffers and that is a scientifically proven fact. Feeling lonely has a measurable effect on sleep and blood pressure meaning it negatively effects health. More than effecting physical health, loneliness harms mental health. Feeling lonely and isolated increases risk of suicide and makes it harder to make it through day to day life. This is why I value community. By building a community of people around you that can offer support and help you solve problems, you reduce the effects of loneliness. Personally, I’ve spent a lot of my life feeling lonely. Growing up, I didn’t have much support from my absentee parents. But I had support from the people who I wanted in my life, support from the system that I built for myself. This is what a community is; it’s the people we choose to surround ourselves with. Now, I choose to include my parents in my community but I don’t have …show more content…
Other individuals who are currently healing might see the value in spending time alone, or they might be too depressed or ill to socialize. Some people might value family over community. It is important that I remember this when approaching helping relationships. If I were to try and push for someone to build a community when they were too depressed to do so, they might feel like I do not actually care about them, or like they have no control over what is happening. If someone prefers to talk to family and rely on them for support, they might feel as though I don’t understand where they are coming from if I try to force community on the. As someone who values a strong community, I might assume that someone has a community when they don’t. If I expect others to have a sense of belonging and community like I do, this might negatively affect their healing