The epidemic of isolation increases as older adults face loneliness and limited support.
Two years before May, the US Surgeon General issued an extraordinary public warning: the United States is facing loneliness and loneliness. At that time, he attracted attention. News outlets picked it up, people talked about it on social media, and for a moment it seemed like something could really be done. But here, two years later, the warning is neglected and with little change. In fact, for many people – especially the old American – the problem can be even worse.
The advisory said something that many people already knew deeply: more and more people are going through a sense of life. Not only “I was a quiet weekend” not only alone, but wear on you over time. The kind that makes you cut, forget, and no one feels if you disappear. For older people, this is not a small problem. As people’s age, friends die, people in the family move, and get out of health problems and have difficulties about it. Add to retirement or lose a partner, and the world can shrink fast.
When the surgeon general picked up the alarm in 2023, he was not talking about anything trivial. According to recent studies, according to the National Institutes on Aging, isolation can be just as detrimental to your health as 15 cigarettes a day. This can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, depression and even early death. The consultation identified them all. Ideas offered about what can be done – such as building community space, supporting neighboring programs, and making sure that health providers ask about social connection during checkups.
But two years later, the warning was ignored and very few of these ideas have been actually practiced in a large or lasting way. There is no major national push to deal with isolation. Funding is limited. And when some local groups are trying to help, they are often thin. Older Americans are still sitting alone in their homes, day by day, they have no visitors, no calls, and have no real relationship with the world around them.
In the constant burden he has put on the health care systems, the CEO and co -founder of the Anti -Robotics, said, “Looking at such high awareness of the health risks of isolation and social isolation and the increasing costs of social isolation, it is a result of the rapid frustration. Award -winning AI fellow robot, which helps older adults stay healthy and busy.
Loneliness is not just about feeling sad and bored. It takes toll on both the brain and the body. When people get too long without meaningful contact, this results both of them. And as long as it lasts, it is difficult to batch behind. Swallowing it even more difficult is that the most affected people are the ones who have worked in raising families, working in jobs, and helping to build the communities living nowadays. They deserve better.
There is a month of Americans – a time in which the elderly adults are considered to be celebrated. But what kind of celebration will it be with ignoring the warning? Loneliness is not a new problem, but it is growing. And showing that this is just a personal problem, rather than public concern, is not helping.
The country’s top medical doctor told us that it was serious 24 months ago. This point should have started. Instead, we stand quietly. If anything is going to change, it has to start with a lifeline -like treatment – it is not just for the elderly, but for everyone.
Sources:
The US Surgeon General Advisory 2023: Our epidemic of isolation and loneliness
Social isolation, the dangers of loneliness in the elderly people
Lining between isolation and chronic illness
