Loneliness as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day

[Connor1874]

I smoke 14 a day in good company. At least I'm not lonely.

[Brother Blades]

19 minutes ago, gannonball said:

Sounds like a hipster indie band.

They will definitely be better than Tame Impala. 

[Derry Alli]

5 hours ago, velo army said:

The correlation between what two things? 

Loneliness and smoking however many a day. 

Loneliness no doubt causes problems in life but to say "it's the same as smoking X amount a day" is pretty wild.

[johnnydun]

Happiness...

Loneliness...

 

 

[Sergeant Wilson]

 

 

[velo army]

14 hours ago, Derry Alli said:

Loneliness and smoking however many a day. 

Loneliness no doubt causes problems in life but to say "it's the same as smoking X amount a day" is pretty wild.

That isn't a correlation, and the article isn't saying it's the same as. It's saying that it can take the same amount of years off your life as cancer. It's a deliberately provocative thing to say as it gets attention. 

But we know already that loneliness is a killer and shows up physically in a number of ways that cause health problems (raised cortisol levels brought on by stress, for example). We know that a need to be connected to others is as basic a human need as food, but one which is frequently neglected in our atomised society. This is pretty old hat by now, the science is pretty much in. The thing is that loneliness is one of the aims of consumer capitalism, so its place as one of the great causes of our distress isn't going to be put front and centre. Advertisers monetise our desire for connection in the most cynical of ways (neurological advertising) while selling us things that soothe our status anxiety (our belonging in a place of favour) and create a sense of counterfeit connectedness (e.g. the dopamine hit we get when someone likes a post on facebook , or from having a zoom call with friends).

Another reason they picked cancer is that people, in my experience, tend to believe that diseases in the human body are only caused by physical influences, such as smoking, alcohol, junk food or being exposed to toxic chemicals. Modern psychiatry and public health are moving towards a more holistic model. Scientists are seeing that auto-immune diseases can be traced to limbic responses to childhood trauma, and that addiction is a self-soothing response to a dearth of safe connection. 

I can go on, but it's really not at all wild that loneliness (not necessarily to be confused with solitude, which can be great to recharge and connect with yourself, but rather an unfulfilled need to connect with others) results in physical pathology which can reduce the length of our lives.

(Drs Gabor Mate and Bessel Van Der Kolk are great resources for talking about this)

Edited May 4, 2023 by velo army

[GNU_Linux]

 

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

16 hours ago, ICTJohnboy said:

You're Never Alone With A Strand

Quote

Asbestos in Cigarette Filters

Asbestos in Cigarette Filters - Where Asbestos was Located (mesotheliomahope.com)

[Mark Connolly]

 

[tongue_tied_danny]

If its songs about loneliness that we're doing...

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

[TxRover]

7 hours ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

Loneliness might mean an earlier death, but it'll seem longer and you won't cough your guts up. Win, win.

Maybe it’s like marriage…you don’t live longer, it just feels that way?

[BillyAnchor]

18 hours ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

 

That video is so good.

[tamthebam]

On 03/05/2023 at 13:29, gannonball said:

Sounds like a hipster indie band.

Early morning Glasgow, pissed,

A break from all the phoniness,

Sitting in an empty Buchanan Street,

This must be terminal loneliness 

 

It was a big hit in Poland...