The Psychology of Social Isolation and Its Impact on Mental Health

We’ve all heard the popular saying, “Humans are social animals”. We, by nature, crave interactions with others. In fact, we are dependent on these interactions for our survival. However, there are a large number of individuals who are unable to enjoy this relationship. Data from the World Health Organisation shows that about 16% of people worldwide, i.e., one in six people, experience loneliness, which further has severely negative impacts on their physical, mental, and emotional health.

What is Social Isolation?

While solitude itself isn’t a bad thing, in fact, some people even crave it. Isolation or social isolation is the unwanted solitude that people often face in their daily lives. “Loneliness refers to the subjective, distressing experience of having a lack or deficiency in one’s social connection to others, indicating that relationships with others are missing or inadequate” (Bekhet et al., 2008). This causes a sense of not belonging, to be “the other person” and a severe lack of intimacy, attachment and meaningful relationships with others.

What Causes Social Isolation?

1. Chronic Conditions

Various chronic diseases, disorders and other conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Castelino et al., 2018), chronic pain, cardiovascular diseases such as advanced heart failure (Leeming et al., 2014) and Parkinson’s lead to a decrease in social activities, which results in fewer connections formed. Stigma around conditions like HIV and AIDS also reduces interactions.

2. Loss Of a Loved One

Losing someone important in one’s life causes sadness, loneliness and often results in social withdrawal. The symptoms are also often determined against the background of the loss, like when, how, and at what age the loss occurred and whether the individual thinks it to be premature (Carr, 2009). The loss of a loved one also increases feelings of a lack of a support system.

3. Social Media

While social media might seem like the perfect platform for social interactions and decreasing isolation, researchers say the opposite. Increased use of social media leads to substituting real-life interactions with online ones (Bonsaksen et al., 2023). The well-crafted personas of other people available virtually raise unrealistic expectations, negative comparisons, heightened insecurity and the feeling of loneliness.

4. Employment

Certain jobs, such as shift work, naturally have uneven work patterns, which makes it difficult for employees to interact or find commonalities on which they can connect. People who have frequent job changes also face the issue of navigating workplace relationships. Added to that, retired individuals often feel a loss of a social network system and purpose, as they can’t interact with their colleagues to the level they did earlier (Morris, 2019).

5. Living Conditions

The kind of locality, family type, community, etc, that a person lives in greatly impacts their social interactions. Living in more violent conditions, whether direct and indirect, is linked with feelings of social isolation (Tung et al., 2019).

How Isolation Impacts Us

1. Mental Health

Social isolation has adverse impacts on an individual’s mental health, with its effects lasting up to nine years into the future (Loades et al., 2020). It has been linked with increased psychological distress, symptoms of anxiety, depression, mood disorders and even suicidal ideation as an extreme form of self-destructive behaviour.

2. Poor Sleep Quality

A poor social support system is linked with worsened living patterns and markedly worse sleep quality. This occurs because of dysregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical (HPA) axis ( becomes hyperactive) (Lai et al., 2012) or the promotion of pro-inflammatory cytokine production.

3. Impaired Executive Functioning

It includes a person’s ability to manage, regulate, and control their attention, emotions, and behaviour. All these forms of self-regulation see a decline in lonely individuals compared to nonlonely ones (Cacioppo et al., 2000). The fear of an isolated future further decreases executive functioning as studied on individuals conducting a math test, where those with “future socially isolated participants” performed poorly on executive problems (Campbell et al., 2006).

4. Cognitive Decline

It has been seen as a major risk factor for cognitive decline (Tilvis et al., 2004). Research on animals shows isolation is linked with a decline in learning functions like reversal learning. A study showed an association of impairment in all kinds of memory except working memory and episodic performance with an increase in feelings of loneliness (Wilson et al., 2007).

5. Children’s Neurodevelopment

The neglect caused by an isolated environment in early life harmfully impacts an individual’s further development (Heim et al., 2010). Such children become increasingly vulnerable to various mental health problems in the future, with negative coping mechanisms.

6. Poor Cardiovascular Function

Studies show a link between strong social support systems and a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular diseases (Uchino, 2004). Researchers suggest the “reactivity hypothesis of disease” theory to explain how high reactivity increases risk for such diseases. Social support generates healthy behaviours and provides methods to cope with stress (Cohen, 1985).

7. Mortality

“There is robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase risk for premature mortality, and the magnitude of the risk exceeds that of many leading health indicators,” says Holt-Lunstad. The unhealthy lifestyles and coping mechanisms attached to social isolation, like lack of physical activity or proper diet, smoking, alcohol, drug abuse, etc, are often highly linked with increased morbidity and risk of premature death (Shankar, McMunn and Steptoe, 2011).

Simple Ways To Cope

Acknowledgement: As always, acknowledgement is not only the first step towards a solution, but it is also the bravest thing one can do. We shouldn’t bottle up our emotions; instead, acknowledge feelings of isolation and our need for support.
Reach out: Sometimes, a simple “hello” text is enough to bring people together and let go of worries. One shouldn’t shy away from reaching out and seeking support from people around them, including family, peers and others. At the same time, checking in with people around us may also help them reach out and share their problems too.
Self-care: While we are constantly worried about the world’s problems, those of our own are often not addressed. We should actively engage in self-care by building routines for rest, recreation and interactions with our close ones (Vaarala et al., 2013).

Conclusion

Social interactions have been a necessity for human survival since ancient times. It is what helps us develop as individuals and connect with the world. However, various factors such as health conditions, disabilities, bereavement, increased use of social media, living conditions and employment restrictions lead to increased feelings of social isolation.

Social isolation has been linked with harmful effects on physical and mental health, with increased risks of cardiovascular and other diseases, poor sleep, cognitive and executive decline, as well as increased mortality risk. However, this can be combatted through effective preventive measures like acknowledgement, active engagement, self-care, reaching out, and seeking support. While social isolation is indeed a big and persistent problem, it can still be solved by mutual efforts for interconnection and interaction.

FAQs

1. What causes social isolation?

Chronic health conditions, certain disabilities, bereavement, increased use of social media, living conditions and employment restrictions are some causes of increased feelings of social isolation.

2. How does social isolation impact us?

Social isolation has several impacts on not just our physical health but also mental health, with increased risks of cardiovascular and other diseases, poor sleep, cognitive and executive decline, as well as increased risk of mortality.

3. How to cope with social isolation?

Acknowledging our problems, active engagement, engaging in self-care, reaching out, and seeking support are some common methods to cope with social isolation.

References +

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2020). Risk and protective factors for social isolation and loneliness. In Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557971/

social-isolation-symptoms https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/social-isolation-symptoms#effects

Bonsaksen, T., Ruffolo, M., Price, D., Leung, J., Thygesen, H., Lamph, G., Kabelenga, I., & Geirdal, A. Ø. (2023). Associations between social media use and loneliness in a cross-national population: do motives for social media use matter?. Health psychology and behavioural medicine, 11(1), 2158089. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2022.2158089

Almeida, I. L. L., Rego, J. F., Teixeira, A. C. G., & Moreira, M. R. (2021). Social isolation and its impact on child and adolescent development: a systematic review. Revista paulista de pediatria : orgao oficial da Sociedade de Pediatria de Sao Paulo, 40, e2020385. https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-0462/2022/40/2020385

Naito, R., McKee, M., Leong, D., Bangdiwala, S., Rangarajan, S., Islam, S., & Yusuf, S. (2023). Social isolation as a risk factor for all-cause mortality: Systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. PloS one, 18(1), e0280308. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280308

Cacioppo, J. T., & Hawkley, L. C. (2009). Perceived social isolation and cognition. Trends in cognitive sciences, 13(10), 447–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2009.06.005