7 Ways to Reduce Loneliness During the Pandemic

Do you remember Eleanor Rigby? Sure you do. “

She died in a church and was buried along with her name”.

That’s right. The Beatles-Eleanor Rigby.So what do Eleanor Rigby and an enormous spike in US handgun sales have in common??A lot.

And, that’s where the story begins.

The recent lack of human contact has been hard on everyone. But, it has been particularly hard on populations already most vulnerable to isolation, like the elderly and the disabled.

According to Phillip Zimbardo, a Psychologist at Stanford,

“There is nothing more detrimental to a person’s life than isolation. There is no more destructive influence on physical and mental health than the isolation of you from me and us from them.”

And, for those of us who are extroverts, it’s been hideous. I’ve started to have two-way conversations with my wiener dogs.

Look at all the Lonely People

Even before the pandemic we were already in a bad spot when it comes to loneliness. A 2018 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 1 in 5 Americans always or often feel lonely or socially isolated. And, many of these Americans say their health, relationships and work suffers as a result.