It’s always nice when a study backs up what you’ve written about before. “It often helps to smile at others to ease social tensions. Recognizing a smile is much more difficult when the mouth is covered. You’d think so. But I and my colleagues know from one of our studies, which will be published soon,…
I think the statistics coming from the text service in the UK are interesting. In the 10 months since Shout launched as the UK’s first 24/7, free and confidential crisis text service, our trained volunteers have had 250,000 conversations. Around 18,000 of these have been with children under 13. Suicide is the main issue that…
Following up on yesterday’s post about technology and loneliness, and even a topic that also came up on the Moments of Clarity show yesterday too, comes this from Australia. Why is this topic important? See for yourself – First, loneliness is a killer. An influential meta-analysis, which collated and analysed the results of nearly 150…
As you may know, I am a believer that technology can help us keep in touch, especially if, like me, you have relocated and aren’t geographically close to some of your closest friends and family members. I was reading the article today about Australian nursing home residents and other elderly people, and the use of…
It is important to have friends and social connections, we already know this: Research shows that new friendships start to decline in our 20s. Studies have also shown that friendships are a big factor in mental and physical health, as well as longevity. In other words, loneliness kills — even in a relationship. So, if…
This is a sad read, but I do believe this is correct – There are myriad reasons that elderly adults are more susceptible to the nation’s 10th leading cause of death. One of the most prevalent is loneliness. Older adults often live in isolation and may be struggling with the death of a lifelong husband…
