It’s not a virus this time, and it’s certainly not going to force us to lock it home again. It doesn’t fill emergency rooms or force us to undergo medical tests, but the effects can be the same as an insidious disease. We’re talking about loneliness, which is affecting almost half of Americans and is becoming a real epidemic. This was confirmed by Vivek Murthy, chief operating officer of the Corps of Public Health Services and the main public health spokesperson for the US federal government.
The evidence is that loneliness can be as deadly as smoking and can increase the risk of premature death by 30%. Studies have been clear for years: loneliness and isolation can predispose to heart, immune and psychiatric pathologies, support alcohol and substance abuse, alter sleep and appetite rhythms, and predispose to chronic stress.
In an 81-page report, Murthy said about half of American adults experience the condition. After all, the number of one-person households has nearly doubled in the last 60 years, and the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly affected a phenomenon now prevalent throughout the Western world, with many withdrawing to the private sector.
“We know that loneliness is a common feeling for many people,” Murthy said. It’s like hunger or thirst. It is a feeling the body sends to us when something we need to survive is missing. Millions of Americans struggle in the shadows. This is not true. So I raised the alarm to shed some light on a problem too many people are facing.”
However, after this call, not enough resources were allocated to a problem related to the structure of our society, which is difficult to solve for this very reason.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
