Social Isolation

[indago]

Dhruv Khullar wrote for The New York Times 22 December 2016:
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...No immediate family. No close friends. ...the sadness of his death was surpassed only by the sadness of his solitude. I wondered whether his isolation was a driving force of his premature death, not just an unhappy circumstance.

...Social isolation is a growing epidemic — one that’s increasingly recognized as having dire physical, mental and emotional consequences. Since the 1980s, the percentage of American adults who say they’re lonely has doubled from 20 percent to 40 percent. About one-third of Americans older than 65 now live alone, and half of those over 85 do.
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article

One commenter noted: "Those that enjoy being alone are not lonely. ...Loneliness is a state of mind."

 

[MisterBeale]

The only reason there is so much social isolation is b/c they haven't all found USMB yet. . . . .

 

[OldLady]

Dhruv Khullar wrote for The New York Times 22 December 2016:
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...No immediate family. No close friends. ...the sadness of his death was surpassed only by the sadness of his solitude. I wondered whether his isolation was a driving force of his premature death, not just an unhappy circumstance.

...Social isolation is a growing epidemic — one that’s increasingly recognized as having dire physical, mental and emotional consequences. Since the 1980s, the percentage of American adults who say they’re lonely has doubled from 20 percent to 40 percent. About one-third of Americans older than 65 now live alone, and half of those over 85 do.
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article

One commenter noted: "Those that enjoy being alone are not lonely. ...Loneliness is a state of mind."

On the longest night of the year, for the past eleven years, Bangor, Maine has held a vigil for the homeless who died during the year. Mostly unsung, unknown and unremarked in their passing. I hope they weren't feeling lonely.

 

[DGS49]

The vigil for homeless who died locally is done here, too. Apparently this is the second time they have done it. Maybe it's a national thing.