HEALTH FILE

YOU AREN’T ALONE IN YOUR LONELINESS

They call it the “loneliness epidemic”. According to 2023’s Canadian Social Connection Survey, over 50% of Canadian seniors report feelings of loneliness. Image credit: PIXABAY on Pexels.

One-in-two Canadian seniors have regular feelings of loneliness, according to a press release from GenWell.

They call it the “loneliness epidemic”. 

According to 2023’s Canadian Social Connection Survey, over 50% of Canadian seniors report feelings of loneliness, with 30% stating they do not have people they can rely on when they have problems and over 300,000 report feeling consistently lonely over the past 10 years.

GenWell believes the solution lies in not just educating seniors on the importance of human connection, but educating all Canadians on the importance of reaching out to a senior. Making a connection can be as simple as a few seconds, an afternoon or a day – it really depends on what works for you and the senior you connect with.

Some suggestions from GenWell:

Make time to say hello or have a conversation. 

Go for coffee or a meal together.

Get outside and go for a walk together.

Enjoy time with a hobby or interest.

Medical research has shown that the increased risk of death from loneliness and social isolation is similar to that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day or having an alcohol use disorder. Notably, loneliness and social isolation among older adults has been linked to an increase in the risk of a range of serious issues, including:

Dementia (50%)

Premature death (45%)

Stroke (32%)

Coronary heart disease (29%)

Cancer mortality (25%)

A registered Canadian non-profit organization, Genwell is a grassroots global human connection movement. It shares information, research, tips and tools to help people create healthy connection habits.

More at genwell.ca.