The Dangers of Loneliness with The Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Albers

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Transcript

00:00Loneliness is toxic. It is damaging to our mental and our physical health.

00:06Chronic loneliness is known to trigger the fight or flight response, the stress response in the

00:13body. When we feel stressed, our bodies are flooded with cortisol and this tends to weaken our immune

00:19system and increase inflammation, which leaves us at risk for higher incidence of strokes, heart

00:26attacks, heart disease, dementia, and early death. Long-term chronic loneliness is a health issue.

00:36The impact of long-term chronic loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes

00:45in a day. Loneliness compounds over time. It grows roots. When you sit for long periods of time

00:52in loneliness, it impacts your brain. Your brain starts to send messages of feeling unsafe.

00:59Your brain starts to feel numb, withdrawn. Addressing loneliness, the sooner the better.

01:07The good news is that there are many ways that we can help people who are struggling with loneliness,

01:13and it could be simple acts of reaching out. It does not have to take an extended period of time.

01:18Loneliness is curable and preventable. Asking people as soon as possible to address their loneliness

01:27can prevent in the future health problems as well as depression and anxiety. When my clients start to

01:34feel lonely, we talk about different strategies and address it sooner rather than later. When you get so

01:43far deep into a hole, it is hard to pull yourself out. If you're looking just over the edge, you can step away.