Social Connectivity: How to Halt An Epidemic of Loneliness & Isolation
“Our individual relationships are an untapped resource—a source of healing hiding in plain sight. They can help us live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives. Answer that phone call from a friend. Make time to share a meal. Listen without the distraction of your phone. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically. The keys to human connection are simple, but extraordinarily powerful.”
Social Connectivity
This year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued the report, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. One of the most startling facts to come from the report is that prior to the pandemic “about one-in-two adults in America reported experiencing loneliness.”
Despite the ability to be in constant contact with others through smart phones, social media, FaceTime, and Zoom calls, Americans are feeling lonelier, not more connected to others.
In response, the Surgeon General’s office has launched a Public Priorities Initiative to address the startling percentage of Americans living in social isolation and loneliness. Its aim is to improve our social connectivity, defined as a “continuum of the size and diversity of one’s social network and roles, the functions these relationships serve, and their positive or negative qualities.” [1]
Social connectivity can be understood through relationships spread across family (parents, siblings, spouses/partners, children, grandparents, etc.); work (co-workers, bosses, supervisors, contractors, consultants, clients, patients, etc.); friends (school, college, sports, arts, etc.); and community (neighborhoods, spiritual / religious, collectives, groups, volunteerism, etc.).
Researchers found that social connectivity can decrease the risk of developing and worsening major physical and mental health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, dementia, and diabetes. [2]
Key Findings
The report’s findings, culled from 325 research studies, are the most comprehensive verdict to-date that relational wellbeing is key to one’s overall quality of life. Social connectivity for older adults can reduce heart disease and risk of stroke and reduce developing dementia. For children and adolescents, relational wellbeing improves academic outcomes. Here are the numbers:
Living in isolation reduces our chances of survival and social isolation increases the risk for premature mortality by 29%.
Poor social relationships, social isolation, and loneliness can increase your risk of heart disease by 29% and risk of stroke by 32%.
Smaller social network size is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and of other diabetic complications including heart attacks and kidney disease.
Among older adults, chronic loneliness and social isolation can increase the risk of developing dementia by approximately 50%.
Being more socially connected can improve stress responses and minimize the negative health effects of stress.
People with strong perceptions of community belongingness are 2.6 times more likely to report good or excellent health than people with a low sense of belongingness.
Children and adolescents who enjoy positive relationships with their peers, parents, and teachers experience improved academic outcomes.
Social isolation, or even the perception of isolation, can increase inflammation in the body to the same degree as physical inactivity.
Social support from friends and family is associated with improved hypertension and diabetes management.
Immersion in local community-based activities such as volunteering significantly increases the likelihood of unemployed individuals becoming employed. [1]
What You Can Do to Optimize Your Relational Wellbeing
Developed by the Surgeon General’s advisory, this comprehensive list identifies ways to optimize your social connectivity. A few are easily achievable with mindfulness and intention, including #3 and #4. #9 and #10 are key to receiving supportive and therapeutic care prior to and during a mental health crisis. 988, the national crisis hotline is available 24/7/365. You can find a mental health counselor or therapist by visiting Psychology Today. #6, #7, and #11 are sure ways to feel connected and to engage meaningfully with others in your community. These may take more active planning on your part, but they also can prove very rewarding.
Understand the power of social connection and the consequences of social disconnection on your relationships, health, and well-being.
Invest time in nurturing your relationships through consistent, frequent, and high-quality engagement with others.
Minimize distraction during conversations to increase the quality of time you spend with others.
Seek out opportunities to serve and support others. Try helping your family, friends, and community members or participating in community service.
Be responsive and supportive and practice gratitude. Reflect the core values of connection in how you approach others through the actions you take and conversations you have.
Actively engage with people of different backgrounds and experiences to expand your understanding of and relationships with others.
Participate in social and community groups such as fitness, religious, hobby, professional, and community service organizations to foster a sense of belonging, meaning, and purpose.
Reduce practices that lead to feelings of disconnection from others.
Seek help during times of struggle with loneliness or isolation by reaching out to a family member, friend, counselor, health care provider, or the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Be open with your health care provider about significant social changes in your life.
Make time for civic engagement. This could include being a positive and constructive participant in political discourse or gatherings (e.g., town halls, school board meetings, local government hearings).
For more information on these recommendations, read page 66 of the Surgeon General’s advisory.
Social connectivity and relational wellbeing have major benefits for the self, community, and society. In a future article, I will discuss how to foster your relational wellbeing through the establishment of understanding, reliance, trust, and intimacy.
Would you like help optimizing your social connectivity?
I would be happy to meet with you to assess your relational wellbeing and help you chart an intentional plan to increase your social connectivity.
Lisa A. Rainwater, PhD, MA (couns), LCMHC, CCMHC, CGP, CT is the owner of Rainwater Counseling in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she provides depth psychotherapy and relational attachment and grief counseling to individuals and couples. She earned a master’s in German Studies from the University of Oregon; a master’s in Counseling from Wake Forest University; and a doctorate in German and Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lisa is a Certified Thanatologist through the Association of Death Education and Counseling and is seeking certification in Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction at the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition. She has training in Young-Eisendorf’s Dialogue Therapy for Couples and has been accepted into the intensive certification program at the Institute for Dialogue Therapy. Lisa is currently enrolled in a year-long program entitled, Jungian and Post-Jungian Clinical Concepts, at the Centre of Applied Jungian Studies.
She is licensed to practice in North Carolina and Colorado.
