“Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation 2023”- U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory

The U.S. Surgeon, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, went on a USA cross country tour and found many Americans “ felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant.” Dr. Murthy’s concerns with many Americans’ social disconnection and feelings of loneliness lead him to develop an advisory board for the purpose of seeking ways to increase social connection. This advisory board commenced with research and found that one of the largest societal contributors to increased loneliness and isolation was technology.  The advisory report stated:  “Americans spend an average of six hours per day on digital media and one-in-three U.S. adults 18 and over report that they are online ‘almost constantly’ ”.  It was found that digital media usage has displaced much of in-person engagement and has monopolized the attention of many people.

How to combat loneliness and Isolation?

The advisory report gave these helpful suggestions:

“• Invest time in nurturing your relationships through consistent, frequent, and high-quality engagement with others,

• Seek out opportunities to serve and support others, either by helping your family, co-workers, friends, or by participating in community service,

• Participate in social and community groups such as fitness, religious, hobby, professional, and community service organizations to foster a sense of belonging,

• Reduce practices that lead to feelings of disconnection from others, including excessive social media use and disproportionate time in front of screens instead of people,

• 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 crisis line.

To read the whole advisory report, go to https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf.

Managing Anxiety Tip 2: Walk Outside and Breathe Deeply

Walking outside and breathing deeply can increase feelings of calmness.

Research has shown that walking, especially at a brisk pace, increases oxygen to the brain which increases ‘feel good’ hormones. A study by Edwards and Loprinzi (see below) found that walking even 10 minutes often improved people’s moods. Increased ‘feel good’ hormones counters stress and anxiety.

Walking with intentional deep breathing enhances the positive effects of walking. Most people when feeling anxious and/or stressed breathe in a shallow manner. Breathing deeply calms the nervous system. Work and home pressures can build up within us and taking a walk helps us to release these pressures and have a positive change of environment. Going outside helps one ‘walk away’ from stress and worry environments into a more peaceful environment. Green plants and flowers have an uplifting and calming effect and can often be found in a nearby park or pretty walkway.

Next time you feel anxious and stressed, take a brisk walk outside and breathe deeply!

Edwards MK, Loprinzi PD. Experimental effects of brief, single bouts of walking and meditation on mood profile in young adults. Health Promot Perspect. 2018;8(3):171-178. Published 2018 Jul 7. doi:10.15171/hpp.2018.23

Managing Anxiety Tip 1: Reduce news watching

Today many are experiencing increased feelings of insecurity about the future of their lives and their loved ones. Television and social media news can be a large contributor to this problem.

Several research studies have shown that watching news triggers negative psychological feelings. A study by Johnson and Davey found that participants who watched news with negative content showed increases in both anxious and sad moods, and also showed a significant increase in the tendency to catastrophize a personal worry.

This means that watching news increases our anxiety not only about the content of the news BUT also increases our anxiety over other areas of our life not related to the news stories we consumed. Viewing many negative stories can leave us feeling like our lives are out of control. But the truth is our feelings of control greatly increase when our minds are filled with positive, uplifting stories. Stories that give us hope. There are many sources of positive events and news. Here are a few:

• Good Net, www.goodnet.org, this website shares uplifting and inspiring current events from around the world that will make you feel good about life;

• GoodNewsNetwork, www.goodnewsnetwork.org, the website shares “Good News Network® as an antidote to the barrage of negativity experienced in the mainstream media. Because of its long history, staying power, and public trust, GNN is #1 on Google for good news;”

• Janeane Bernstein’s book “Get the Funk Out!” which is filled with true life stories of courage and optimism from the author’s work as a radio show host.

Try not watching the news for one week and replacing it with positive, uplifting information. Compare how you feel in the beginning of the week versus after the “news fast” week is over.