The holiday season is in full swing. It is the time of year for good food, and good friends and family—at least for most of us. But for many others the holiday season can remind them of just how lonely they are. The U.S. Census estimates that as many as 28 percent of adults 65 and older lived alone in 2010, but a person doesn’t have to live alone to feel lonely. Loneliness can affect anyone who doesn’t feel meaningful connections with other people. Loneliness is more than an emotional issue; it has real implications for physical and mental health. Recent research has shown that feeling lonely or being isolated affects mortality in a similar way to that of a smoking habit of 15 cigarettes per day, and has more of an impact on mortality than other risk factors, like obesity and sedentary lifestyle.
Read the entire article in the November/December 2019 issue of ONYX Magazine.
