As we have noted from the outset of the COVID War, the politicians, with their rules and regulations, have sucked the joy out of life.
And the people are feeling it.
Human beings are hard-wired through evolution to work in groups and socialize. Yet, in America, a loneliness trend has been growing recently. As reported by Erin Carson on c/net, research by health care insurer Cigna showed over half of 20,000 U.S. residents contacted were feeling lonely.
A year later, that number increased to over 60 percent. And the group hit hardest by the loneliness trend has been Generation Z when compared to Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials.
Loneliness is a serious health issue. In 2018, the medical journal The Lancet, commenting on the threats of feeling isolated, stated, “Imagine a condition that makes a person irritable, depressed and self-centered, and is associated with a 26 percent increase in the risk of premature mortality.”
Now in the grip of a fear-driven coronavirus shutdown, with mainstream media pumping out scare-tactic scenarios despite lack of hard scientific evidence, the health consequences of loneliness in America are accelerating.
When isolated from group activities during particularly stressful times, such as now, people suffer more with sleep disorders and weight control.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented shutdown of the global economy and anxiety-ridden restrictions enforced by political leaders as they flounder with the task of reopening an entire society, loneliness is an even greater threat.
A study published on 14 March in The Lancet reviewed the psychological effect of extended quarantines during past viral outbreaks. “Most reviewed studies reported negative psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion and anger. Stressors included longer quarantine duration, infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies inadequate information and financial loss.” The studies were conducted across ten countries.
Today, we are getting updated reports of the loneliness factor to include the current pandemic including the 14 May article in the International Journal of Social Psychiatry, “Social Isolation in COVID-19: The Impact of Loneliness.”
Among some of the key points made by it authors, Drs. Debanjan Banerjee and Mayank Rai:
- “The timelines of this pandemic being uncertain, the isolation is compounded by mass panic and anxiety. Crisis often affects the human mind in crucial ways, enhancing threat arousal and snowballing the anxiety. Rational and logical decisions are replaced by biased and faulty decisions based on mere ‘faith and belief.’”
- “This important social threat of a pandemic is largely neglected. Mass hysteria has acquired a frantic pace and people’s hope and aspirations are taking a merciless beating.”
- “Individuals are waking up every day wrapped in a freezing cauldron of social isolation, sheer boredom and a penetrating feeling of loneliness.”
Unhappy Americans
According to a poll conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) released last week, Americans experience less happiness today than at any time over the past 50 years.
The number of Americans who feel lonely has doubled since the previous survey just two years ago.
The poll reveals only 14 percent of American adults say they’re very happy, a dramatic drop from 31 percent in 2018.
The NORC poll was taken in May and includes research extending over the past five decades. The American public overall has lost all confidence that the basic standard of living will improve for the next generation.
Among the biggest concerns is lack of companionship. Twice as many reported being lonely and in need of companionship than in 2018.
The data keeps getting more and more troubling. According to a report from the Census Bureau published in late May, one out of every three Americans is experiencing clinical levels of anxiety and depression due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the findings:
- Almost 25 percent of respondents showed signs of “major depressive disorder.”
- Severe symptoms of emotional distress were highest among young people, women, and low-income individuals. Among the 18 to 29-year-old age group, almost half reported symptoms of anxiety and depression.
TRENDPOST: With most people dying from the virus in their late 70s and 80s, among young people, COVID is an “old people’s problem” – not theirs.
Gen Z and younger Millennials will be the rebels who will not be drafted to fight the COVID War. Advertisers selling products and services to this sector would be wise to understand their needs and emotions that are currently being neglected.