Eleanor Service | Editor
Loneliness is an odd thing. It can sneak up on you when you least expect it. Where before there was peace, there are now crushing waves of pain threatening to drown you. And you didn’t even realise you had a toe in the water. Alternatively, it can take a more direct approach, swarming your every sense until it is impossible to ignore, choking every creative or joyous feeling before it can become a danger to its survival. I see it as a virus, infecting us at our most vulnerable, preying on every insecurity, fear, and worry we possess. But its symptoms are not visible. We do not wake up one morning to find ourselves covered in spots from head to foot, or suffering from a hacking cough we cannot seem to shake. Instead, the light of morning brings an unwanted revelation, as we survey our lives and notice for the first time our isolation. How much we lack the closeness of human companionship each of us craves, or when we are hurting and look around to see that there is no one we can rely on to comfort us. The condition, and the agony it brings is invisible, but as crippling as so many diseases.
And this issue is becoming more and more prevalent amongst our elderly population. A little over two months ago, the nation was in full swing celebrating the holiday season, a time for family and friends, hope and charity. A period when loneliness in the elderly is brought further to the forefront of the nation’s mind, through a variety of wonderfully effective campaigns designed to provide companionship to older people suffering loneliness. But just two months later and it has once again sunk to the depths of public attention, forgotten once more. As neglected as those who so desperately need our help. In fact, it is not our help they desire, but simply human kindness. To feel that someone cares. And, after all, isn’t that something everyone needs in their life?
‘Age UK’, a charity dedicated to helping elderly people, reported in 2014 that two-fifths of older people – which is about 3.9 million people – say the television is their main company. Nearly 4 million people are being reduced to scavenging human contact from a screen. That is unacceptable, but not entirely unexpected. Unfortunately, ill health is all too common amongst the elderly population, and it is this very fact that compounds the issue. In fact, 59% of adults aged over 52 who report poor health say they feel lonely some of the time or often. It is an undeniable truth that this epidemic is an issue, but one that can be cured so easily. With simple human kindness and compassion.
It is this very philosophy that has spawned so many wonderful campaigns and organised designed to combat the problem of loneliness in the older population. One such charity has been ‘Silver Line’, a 24-hour helpline designed to provide companionship to the more than one million elderly people in the UK who are socially isolated and are in desperate need of our help. This simple tool allows people who are suffering to be given the simple antidote to a problem that has plagued them for so long and enhances their life beyond belief. Instead of living in a world cut off from the rest of society, languishing in the iron grip of isolation, they are now free to enjoy the most basic, and perhaps the most beloved, aspect of life. Companionship.
But despite these valiant efforts, loneliness is still a recurring problem in today’s society, and it is not just people’s mood it is affecting. It’s their health as well. Loneliness is, in fact, a matter of life and death, as it increases the chances of mortality by 26%. A problem that can be easily solved, can just as easily take a life. Which is a terrifying prospect.
So if you think you see an elderly stranger who may be in need of conversation or think a relative may be suffering, please do not hesitate to offer support or simple conversation. It could save a life.
