No man is an island – we are all social creatures

What a strange world we live in these days! Due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and the current pandemic, public authorities across Europe decided in March that social distancing measures are necessary to slow down the spread of the virus. Social distancing, also called ‘physical distancing’, means maintaining space between yourself and others.

But is physical isolation not directly linked to social or emotional isolation? What happens when the beneficial ‘alone time’ described by Oscar Wilde exceeds the quantity of time we would like to spend alone? How do the elderly or people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s perceive these times?

Loneliness is defined as a subjectively experienced aversive emotional state resulting from unfulfilled social needs [1]. Unlike depression or anxiety, loneliness is not clinically recognised; therefore, those who feel chronically isolated cannot be diagnosed or treated. However, loneliness makes us more susceptible to infections as it weakens the immune system.

How loneliness turns into disease

“Inflammation fuels disease processes in a host of devastating illnesses, including atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s and cancer. […] Inflammation is not the disease itself; rather, it serves as a kind of molecular fuel that helps the disease thrive and grow.” [3]

When we experience loneliness, our body produces a defensive reaction at the cellular level to prepare it for any coming dangers. A part of our defense capacity is used for this.

“Our bodies see loneliness as a mortal threat. When we’re alone, there’s no one to help us fight off that saber-tooth tiger or the hostile war party from the next village. Sensing that we are isolated and at risk, our bodies ramp up their defences in anticipation of the wounds and infections to come. It was a pretty good survival tactic thousands of years ago. In the modern world, though, it’s killing us.” [3]

Emotional and physical pain is processed similarly by the brain. Humans are social creatures and therefore, interactions and connections are crucial for us. Researchers think that throughout evolution pain signals could have been “borrowed” to alert when we are socially isolated. In one sentence: “We need to take social pain just as seriously as we do physical pain.” [3]

We live in an individually-oriented society

What happens if in these times you live alone, or an elder member of your family does? According to figures published by Eurostat in July 2018, 34% of households in the EU were single-person households.

“Sweden tops the chart with over half (51%) single households, followed by Denmark (44%) and Lithuania (43%). At the other end Malta had just 20% single households, 22% in Portugal and Slovakia.” [4]