When it comes to our health, it’s crucial to understand that mental well-being has a direct impact on physical well-being and vice versa. If you are depressed or stressed, your physical health will suffer – for example, your blood pressure will rise, and you will be more susceptible to heart disease, among other things. When your physical health is poor, your mental health will suffer; being in pain means you could be at risk of depression, stress, and anxiety. As you can see, both types of health are inextricably linked, so it’s important to take care of both your physical and mental well-being.
This includes taking care of yourself when you are lonely. Being lonely will have a psychological impact, which, as we’ve noted, will go on to have a physical impact. Why is it that loneliness makes you sicker, however? Read on to find out.
Fearing To Live
Many people are lonely, and it has a direct impact on their health. People who have existing medical conditions could also become fearful of doing new things because they don’t want their health to worsen, which could cause them to be lonely and have a detrimental effect. However, it also has a direct impact on their lives in general. When people are lonely, they don’t go to as many places, and they don’t meet as many people. They don’t try as many new things. This is all bad for your mental health, and you will become sicker.
It’s far better to do things even if you are alone. You’ll meet new people and experience all kinds of fun, which will improve your health. If you’re worried about traveling because you’re sick, you can hire a travel companion to travel with you – it makes the journey easier and safer and prevents you from feeling worse than you already do. When you have an expert medical professional to help you on your flight to discover something new, you will feel a lot better, both physically and mentally.
Poor Sleep
One of the issues that means being lonely makes you more unwell than you might be otherwise is a lack of sleep. When you are lonely, sleep can be hard to come by because your brain never truly shuts down enough to allow the body to repair itself; you’re too worried about being alone for this to happen (this might even be a subconscious thing – in other words, even if you don’t feel lonely, you might still be lonely). When poor sleep goes on for a long time, this will have a detrimental effect on your physical health, and it will make you less focused during the day.
Gaining Weight
Being overweight can cause a variety of different medical issues ranging from minor to life-threatening. Examples include heart disease, high blood pressure, and low self-esteem. When we are lonely, it is far easier for us to put on weight; there is no one there to help us when it comes to portion control, for example, plus, if we live alone, it’s highly likely we’ll eat fast food, takeout, and processed food – it’s quicker and easier if there is just one person to provide food for.
Unfortunately, these foods are very dangerous in high quantities. This and the fact that there isn’t anyone around to help us with exercise and so on means that weight gain is a big problem when you are lonely.
Anxiety
Life is hard, and there are challenges to overcome at all times. When we have a strong support system around us, those challenges can often seem much smaller and easier to deal with – or at least not so terrifying. When it’s just you, and you have to deal with the issues by yourself, those same problems will feel much bigger and perhaps even impossible to get past.
This will often lead to anxiety, making it hard to make decisions, try new things, or even leave the house for some people. Without people around you for support, it’s easy for anxiety to take over your life.