Loneliness Linked to Social Impairment, Oxytocin and Disease

Loneliness is a feeling of suffering that occurs when there is a gap between the desired and actual level of social connection. It is often characterized by a feeling of inability to form meaningful relationships. Loneliness manifests itself through a series of social dysfunctions that support it through multiple pathways.

To study this phenomenon, it is necessary to involve various disciplines, including neuroscience, sociology and clinical medicine. A recent review in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews presents a multidimensional model of loneliness.

What is loneliness?

The Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection describes it as “a subjectively unpleasant or distressing feeling of insufficient connection with others, accompanied by a desire for more or more satisfying social relationships.”

Loneliness is therefore subjective and causes suffering. It cannot be fully assessed or predicted by objective measures such as social isolation or a small social circle. As fertility rates fall in developed countries, the prevalence of loneliness can be expected to increase among aging populations.

The impact of loneliness on social interactions

People who experience loneliness have difficulty participating in meaningful social interactions. They focus on the negative aspects of such interactions and experience less satisfaction and more conflict. They are more closed, avoid synchronous work and rarely seek social contact or emotional intimacy, which can be called hyposociality.

On the other hand, they may demonstrate hypersociality, seeking to form relationships and experience more positive emotions with close people. This can be compared to the brain's response to food after a period of fasting. Loneliness may be a physiological response to a lack of social connections.

Loneliness and oxytocin

Oxytocin, the bonding hormone, stimulates the desire for social relationships. The number of oxytocin-releasing cells and its levels increase with loneliness, suggesting a compensatory role for emotional deprivation. Chronic loneliness, on the other hand, reduces oxytocin levels in an adaptive manner.

Loneliness and illness

Loneliness is associated with an increased risk of both mental and physical illness. It is a marker of depression and is associated with a higher risk of major depression, anxiety, personality disorders, schizophrenia, alcoholism and bulimia. Mental illness can both cause and increase loneliness.

A translational model of loneliness that summarizes key findings about social interaction, oxytocin, and illness

Cardiovascular disease is 30% more common in lonely people, and loneliness is a bigger risk factor than even diabetes. It also increases the risk of mortality in patients with cancer and is associated with dementia. Loneliness is a predictor of suicidal ideation in some subgroups and may reduce self-efficacy, which makes it difficult to manage medical conditions and may lead to premature death.

Conclusion

"Impaired social interactions, the oxytocin system, and illness are interconnected in lonely people, and recognizing these connections is key to understanding the complex construct of loneliness."

Future research should focus on identifying and examining these relationships and the conditions under which loneliness occurs as a cause or effect. The role of oxytocin and other preventive aspects of loneliness to improve mental health needs to be explored.