Feeling lonely doesn’t necessarily mean you have no one nearby. You may be surrounded by friends and family but still feel lonely.
Loneliness is unique to every individual. It can have different causes and different consequences for each and every one of us.
You may be lonely for a number of reasons:
- perhaps you’ve recently lost a loved one
- moved away from your family and or friends
- lost the social connections you used to get from work
- are having to care for a family member and have lost touch with those you used to meet.
- have health problems that make it difficult for you to go out and do the things you enjoy.
You are not alone:
1.4 million older people in the UK feel cut off from society. It’s important to know that you’re not alone. Your local Age UK is here.
Over recent years Age UK has gained a greater understanding of the impact loneliness has on our health.
We now know that, for example, the effect of loneliness and isolation can be as harmful to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness is associated with depression, sleep problems, hypertension, impaired cognitive health, heightened vascular resistance, psychological stress and mental health problems.
If you are lonely it is important to take steps to try and make new connections. We can help you with this.
Take the first steps…………
Contact us today to see what services we offer that could help you.
There are a number of groups that meet on a regular basis that you may wish to join up with. See “Related Organisations” tab on the right for more details.
Updated 07/08/2020