The power and prevalence of loneliness

All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong? —The Beatles, “Eleanor Rigby” A few years ago, when I was the attending emergency physician working in the emergency department, the senior medical resident asked permission to discharge an older man. The resident was convinced the patient was a malingerer, having been seen multiple times in the last week at the medical clinic with “shortness of breath.” The patient had multiple tests, scans, and more — all normal — and yet here he was again, in the emergency department complaining of continued difficulty breathing. “Wait,” I said. “There must be a reason that he keeps coming back. Let me take a look at him with you.” We entered the room, and saw an old man, shrunken in the corner with no animation in his face. He looked forlorn, so I asked, “Are you sad?” He burst into tears and told me that his partner of more than 20 years had died a week ago; he was devastated. His real condition? Not shortness of breath, not crying wolf to get attention, and certainly not a malingerer. What he had was pure and simple: loneliness. The medical resident was stunned. As he admitted to me later, he learned a powerful lesson that day: that the pain of loss can be as profound as not breathing. And sometimes the symptom comes not from the body, but is a cry from the soul. The epidemic — and health dangers — of loneliness Loneliness affects 25% to 60% of older...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Behavioral Health Brain and cognitive health Healthy Aging Mental Health Source Type: blogs