By Dr. Trina Ting
February is a month where we celebrate love and family, which are the most significant connections in our lives. Loneliness is a universal feeling across the globe, spurred on by changes in modern lifestyle and how we now live as a species. It’s increased greatly in the last 10 years, so much so that the United States Surgeon General recently released an official advisory stating the loneliness can increase the risk of premature death as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day would.
Now, this is not advice to start smoking, but rather a call to examine the connections in your life. These statistical reports of loneliness started even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and only accelerated from there. In addition to risk of premature death, there is a 29% increased risk of heart disease, 32% increased risk of stroke, and an alarming 50% increased risk of developing dementia in older adults.
Across all age groups, people report meeting in person less, with this being most pronounced in those aged 15-24, who report 70% less social interaction with their friends.
Why are we more lonely? It’s easy to blame technology, which is certainly a large contributing factor: the rise of virtual work, the use of social media in which the number of connections may be large but the quality of the relationships are poor, and the reliance on our phones to do everything for us, including making and keeping our friends.
What can we do about it?
It’s unrealistic to state we will completely stop all forms of social media and use of our cell phones. Rather, we should use these options to increase our ability to do things in person.
Use Your Social Media: Arrange get togethers in real life: ask your friend to go to a workout class together or get together for coffee in person, or simply to go for a walk.
Increase In-Person Interactions Even for Health Care: While convenient to talk to your doctor over the phone, opt for an in person appointment. In addition for the doctor to be better able to diagnose you in person, the social aspect of leaving your house and interacting with people will still benefit your brain.
Be Vulnerable: Call up a friend who you never would have thought to get together with. Tell someone you trust about how you’ve been feeling more isolated lately. It takes bravery and courage, but carrying the burden of isolation is less stressful when you can share it.
Human beings are social creatures. We have evolved this ability to our species benefit: we traveled in small herds in prehistoric times, and we relied on each other to raise our children, care for one another, and solve problems together. In just 50 short years since the digital age started, we have changed the way we live and connect, but our prehistoric mental needs remain the same. Our brains thrive on connection, close relationships and seeing other human beings regularly.
From a chiropractor’s perspective, the in-person interaction of our visits with our patients is a large part of the healing process. By having face-to-face time with your doctor, and being vulnerable by telling us about how your symptoms are affecting your health, it is doing something positive for your brain. And pain is perceived in the brain. There is also a huge amount of information that our subconscious doctor brain reads from your in-person presence: body language, how you speak, how your energy levels are, and how you move that is much more difficult to read even over video.
Proper diagnosis is key to solving any health problem. If you are struggling with pain or a chronic health issue, it can be isolating and you can feel very much alone. Seeing a chiropractor who can listen with empathy, treat with specificity and allow for the physical aspect of your condition to be addressed can make all the difference.
So, when you have the choice: make that time to do something where you interact with someone in person. Whether it be a psychotherapist, friend, chiropractor, or a family member, you can slowly improve the connections in your life and do something positive for your health.
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