Loneliness is rife in modern Ireland, writes Davis Clark
It is perhaps the greatest contradiction of our modern age that even as avenues of communication have multiplied, allowing us spend more and more time in contact with others, we seem to feel increasingly isolated and alienated from those around us.
A tidal wave of technological advancements has empowered us to express ourselves to anyone who will listen as never before, but if one simply looks around at the people sitting next to you on your morning commute, it’s difficult to shake the sneaking suspicion that those glowing screens are doing more to separate us than to bring us together.
It appears these are not unsubstantiated fears. In January, Britain appointed a Minister for Loneliness in order to combat, as British Prime Minister Theresa May put it, the “sad reality of modern life”.
The Netherlands, in a similar move, recently invested €25 million into addressing widespread loneliness and isolation. Across the world, governments have slowly begun to take notice of the growing body of research that has found that loneliness can have harmful consequences on the mental and even physical well-being of those who experience it.
And more people are experiencing it than ever. Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, has found that 6% of all Europeans reported that they had no one to ask for help if they needed it, and the same percentage reported that they had no one with whom they could discuss personal matters. With such troubling statistics, scores of scientists and public health advocates have called for more research and increased government efforts to help remedy this new widespread problem.
Not insulated
Ireland is in no way insulated from this problem. Founded by Dublin fireman Willie Bermingham in 1977, ALONE works to raise public awareness about loneliness, as well as to create potential solutions. CEO Seán Moynihan says of the current predicament: “The number of people who are isolated and lonely is on the increase, but there are few to no initiatives supported by governments – no public health policies, nobody responsible.”
The organisation recently launched an initiative known as the ‘Loneliness Taskforce’, which in turn released a report on the state of loneliness in Ireland. “What we want to do is make people aware of it, and give recommendations for action to support all people, regardless of age, who may be isolated and cut off from their communities to the extent that it does affect their health,” says Moynihan.
The report, entitled ‘A Connected Ireland’, contains collations of hundreds of submissions, providing data from people of all age groups around the country. The report is meant to be useful to the untrained reader – “it’s very readable, you could read it in 20 minutes”, says Mr Moynihan.
The report also contains a series of five recommendations to help combat these issues. Among these, the taskforce calls for a government body to take some sort of responsibility for addressing these problems.
“At the moment, no Government department is responsible, and if no one is responsible no one is accountable,” says Mr Moynihan, noting the recent efforts made by Holland and Britain, although he also says that the taskforce isn’t necessarily calling for a minister. The group also seeks to galvanise more research into isolation and its effects. “We know enough to know that we need to take action,” says Moynihan, “but we need more research”.
Most significantly, the Loneliness Taskforce calls for the creation by the Government of a fund of around €3 million to aid in the fight against loneliness. The money would be used “to deliver funding streams to agencies whose primary goal is battling loneliness and isolation”, Mr Moynihan says.
ALONE itself focuses primarily on the older population, a demographic which has been shown to be particularly susceptible to isolation. “People may not be aware that around a third of people over 65 live on their own, and around 10% of people over 65 struggles with isolation to the extent that it will shorten their lives,” Moynihan says.
ALONE has been working to provide support to these populations, primarily through volunteer placement. “We currently have 1,200-1,300 volunteers befriending and visiting day in and day out, supporting older people with friendship,” says Mr Moynihan, but the group still has ground to cover. “Our goal is to recruit another 9,000 volunteers and even then we’d only be helping 10% of people who are lonely.”
In addition to ALONE’s historical focus on older people, the creation of the Loneliness Taskforce represents a push to recognise the presence and effects of loneliness in the everyday lives of people of all ages, including younger people.
Within their report is a series of personal story submissions. Mr Moynihan points to a story about a civil servant, still of working age: “He looks very good, but has no contact week after week.”
New mediums
He also cites the personal account of a young college student. The young man realised that, “after seeing loneliness help ads, although it was Sunday and he had been going to college and the gym every day he still hadn’t spoken to anyone since Wednesday”, says Moynihan. Even the generations of people who are most adept with the new mediums of communication suffer from isolation.
To help explain this contradiction, Mr Moynihan points to changes within our society brought by the modern age. “What we’re trying to do is say that maybe some of the traditional support systems of friends and relations and businesses that provided interaction, maybe these links have changed. It could be people moving away, or people living in smaller families. Maybe now we have to work to create those links that used to be natural,” he says.
And this is just what ALONE and the Loneliness Taskforce are seeking to raise support to do, but it’s a complex issue, and Mr Moynihan points to the various misunderstandings surrounding loneliness. “When you’re hungry, you go get food, but when you’re lonely what do you do? Not everybody has the confidence to link back in. There’s also a lot of work to be done focusing on destigmatising mental health.”
It’s important that we work to remove this stigma, Mr Moynihan says, because loneliness can actually affect mental and physical health in various ways. “Our experience is that an awful lot of loneliness ends up as depression. People who are lonely stop minding themselves. It’s hard to get motivated to do something when you have no one to share dinner with, no one to talk to. People’s physical and mental health starts spiralling downward.”
Along with structural changes, Mr Moynihan asks individuals experiencing loneliness to understand that they can express their problems. “Individuals need to recognise their situation, like the student, realising and understanding that there are many people in their situation and they should reach out to someone. Older people can reach out to us at ALONE, people can go to the Irish Youth Council. Ultimately they can go to their GP and primary healthcare. We need to destigmatise mental health, and people shouldn’t be afraid to reach out.”
Moynihan also suggests that anyone feeling isolated try to do some volunteer work: “Volunteering is both a great way to combat loneliness and a great way to contribute to your community.”
And the doors at ALONE are always open, Mr Moynihan says. “Of course if they want to come volunteer for us, we welcome them to apply.”