Do you know the difference between social isolation and loneliness? Because many people think that these two are the same. But they are not. If you don’t know the difference, then you should consider reading this article. Social isolation means having some or no friends to talk to whereas loneliness means you feel alone like there is no one around you with whom you can share your feelings. Both conditions affect your parents and old family members very deeply and increase the risk of chronic conditions and behavioral health disorders. Learn the difference between social isolation and loneliness and how you can overcome them. Visit the best Mental Health Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to www.doralhw.org.
 

Difference between social isolation and loneliness 

While you think social isolation and loneliness are the same things, they are not. But they do share a connection.  

Loneliness means you like to stay or be alone. Whereas social isolation means that you lack social connections or have very few people to interact with regularly. Everyone in this world feels lonely sometimes. Social isolation means you lack people in your life to talk to and share personal things or information which makes you feel lonely.  

People can even feel lonely even when they are surrounded by other people. Loneliness also comes from a choice; people choose to be lonely for some reason and some people feel lonely because they have no one to listen to their thoughts and feelings. But social isolation can happen when you shift places, countries, or offices, where people are total strangers to you, and you are not able to communicate with them as you did with people you’ve known and lived around. 

Older people are at higher risk for social isolation and loneliness because of the changes they experience in their health and social connections, losing their ability to hear, and vision, memory loss, disability, trouble getting around, or loss of close family members and friends. These struggles with loneliness make them disconnected from those around them and the lack of people to make them comfortable leads to social isolation.  

The good news is that neither loneliness nor social isolation lasts forever. You can combat loneliness by breaking your social isolation by finding people or someone to talk with. You can take the help of social media apps or join support groups to find similar people to talk to and prevent your loneliness. 

So, while social isolation and loneliness give the same feeling, both are different conditions that share a connection.  

How do social isolation and loneliness affect older people? 

Social isolation and loneliness can affect older people very deeply and increase the risks of conditions like: 

• Heart disease 
• Obesity 
• Weakened immune system 
• Anxiety 
• Depression 
• High blood pressure 
• Dementia 
• Cognitive decline 
• Risk of suicide 

These conditions risk getting boosted when they start avoiding exercise, drinking too much alcohol, smoking, and don’t sleep to feel good but the effect is exactly the opposite.
People who are lonely experience emotional pain, they lose the sense of connection with people or change the way they see the world. Someone who experiences chronic loneliness does not trust others or feels threatened easily.  

This emotional pain can activate the same bodily responses as stress and cause physical pain. When this happens for a long time, it can lead to chronic inflammation and reduce immunity. It makes them vulnerable to getting infectious or chronic diseases.  

If you need help dealing with your negative thoughts and feelings, call us on  +1-347-384-5690 to get a consultation. If you need help learning coping methods, register your information and make direct contact with our doctors and psychiatrists to learn those methods, log on to www.doralhw.org. Doral Health and Wellness has the best Doctors and Psychiatrists who specialize in Behavioral Health, make accurate diagnoses, and craft tailored treatment programs. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.