People did not evolve to be alone, but rather to survive and thrive in tight-knit social groups.
But as we get older, our social groups can break down due to sickness, disability, even death. As a result, nearly one out of five older adults lives alone — and those folks are at risk of declining faster both mentally and physically.
Most of us live in a culture that values independence and self-reliance. Does that make it hard for people to connect the dots between connectedness and health?
Not necessarily. People often intuitively get it — usually because they can almost immediately think of someone in their lives who may be isolated and who they worry about. Still, it can be useful to offer up some examples of how social connectedness can affect health because they make a lot of sense once you think about them.
Networks, for instance, aren’t just valuable in the professional world. Your relationships with people have real value in terms of the information, resources, and support they provide. Your friend could be the one who encourages you to go to the doctor when you might be reluctant, tells you about local programs and activities you might not know about, or helps you recover from an illness.
Which means connectedness, rather than signaling dependence, could actually foster independence. What’s more, a connected person not only gets help, but also gives help, boosting self-esteem and social status.
At AARP Foundation, we’ve been testing a variety of programs that work to reconnect older adults to their families and communities because it’s one thing to know you should try to connect more, as well as more deeply, and another to thing to know where to start.
If you focus on exploring and doing activities that interest and challenge and excite you, not only can you stay active and interested in life, but what better way is there to meet potential friends?
Your demographics may deem you more or less likely to be vulnerable to isolation. For example, though there isn’t good data yet on the differences in social isolation for older men and women, practitioners often make some assumptions.
One big assumption is that men and women may suffer differently when a partner becomes ill or dies, men because they’ve depended on women to run their social lives, women because they may have a greater need for social engagement (so being alone just feels worse).
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are at particular risk for isolation due to a range of factors, including discrimination and higher rates of poverty and living alone. SAGE and the National Resource Center on LGBT Agingare two great organizations addressing this issue.
Walter Woods will address the LGBT Older Adult Summit at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 21 at the Michigan State University Detroit Center, 3408 Woodward Ave.
