How the World ’s First Loneliness Minister Will Tackle ‘the Sad Reality of Modern Life’

Tracey Crouch knows what it’s like to feel frighteningly alone. After giving birth to her first child, Freddie, in 2016, the British lawmaker says that despite having a “network of friends, family and a wonderful partner,” she began feeling cut off from the world. It wasn’t a new sensation; Crouch says she also suffered from depression six years earlier, when she first became a member of parliament. It felt like she was “in a very dark place, a very lonely place” she recalls. Crouch’s experiences may inform her new role as the country’s first Minister for Loneliness, a role created by Prime Minister Theresa May in January. “For far too many people, loneliness is the sad reality of modern life,” May said when announcing the new position. According to a report last year from the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, more than 9 million people in Britain—around 14 percent of the population—often or always feel lonely. That costs U.K. employers up to $3.5 billion annually, according to consumer co-operative CO-OP. Crouch, 42, might be the world’s first minister tasked with addressing this problem, but countries around the world are increasingly examining loneliness—typically defined as the feeling of lacking or losing companionship—as a public health concern. In Japan, lonely deaths among the elderly have a name, Kodokushi. A 2010 survey suggested more than a third of American citizens over the ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized loneliness public health tracey crouch Source Type: news