JACK HANSEN Chronic loneliness has a mortality rate comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It’s more harmful than obesity. And it’s affecting more and more people every year. According to a Harvard report, 36% of Americans feel “serious loneliness,” enough for Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to call this prevalence of loneliness an epidemic. When one looks at the big picture, it’s easy to reduce it into facts and numbers. It gives us reference points and allows us to compare the numbers across years. However, when one looks at the numbers, they forget the people behind them. It turns loneliness from an experience to a number on a scale. In an informal social media poll, people shared their experiences with loneliness, with the option to remain anonymous. Loneliness is many things. Loneliness is forgetting what the
sound of your own voice is. “I spent 45 days on a ship 500 feet long with 200 people, but even my own bunkmate didn’t speak to me for much of the time. I nearly forgot what my own voice sounded like because nobody sought me for help, or wanted to chat, or even asked where the closest cleaning gear locker was. I was thousands of miles away from anyone who gave a s— about me. All alone with 200 people I had nothing in common with,” Joey Simone said. Loneliness is being kept away from friends in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The virus was spreading quickly, and [my parents] were scared, so they kept me inside and away from others for my own good. I didn’t have many people to talk to or converse with as I’ve never been allowed to have much social media, and, of course, I couldn’t go out to see my friends. So, this led to many days and nights where I sat in my room with myself, all alone. Eventually, I just
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completely felt alone,” said Jaidyn, who did not leave a last name. Loneliness is being surrounded by friends but feeling isolated. “I feel lonely every day with the friends that I hang out with. I like them a lot, but sometimes I feel like I’m the last one to be told anything. We have never truly felt a huge connection in the group. Sometimes I feel like I’m a punching bag to some of them. I feel used sometimes because I try to support them and help them with their struggles, but nobody ever asks me how I feel,” said an anonymous respondent. Loneliness is a feeling that comes when one is thousands of miles away from friends and family. Loneliness is a feeling that comes when one is forced to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Loneliness is a feeling that comes when one is surrounded by friends. Loneliness is many things. Loneliness is not, however, a statistic. Loneliness is a feeling.
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