Loneliness kills, and not only old people

News24xx.com - Psychologists have long proved that loneliness leads to a variety of mental and somatic diseases. But earlier it was believed that this danger threatens mainly people in old age.

Now it turns out that the problem of loneliness is not only about old people. There are at least three peak periods in a person's life when he may feel lonely and especially unhappy - between the ages of 25 and 30, after 50 years and after 80 years.

A group of American researchers led by neuropsychiatrist Dilip Jeste from the University of San-Diego analyzed data on the state of mental and physical health of 340 residents of San-Diego aged from 27 years to 101 years. They concluded that loneliness is the most serious danger for people aged 80 and older, but younger people also face this problem. The results of their research are published in the journal «International Psychogeriatrics».

Scientists can’t with complete confidence to name the cause of this phenomenon, but suggest that it is associated with the level of stress characteristic of these age groups.

"People over 25 often go through a period of making important decisions that determine the course of their entire future life. Very often the stress associated with this is based on the envy of peers and guilt over the wrong decision",- says Jeste.

Such stress in people over 50 can be a "midlife crisis", when a person begins to be aware of his or her mortality.

In a very old age, people are faced with such stresses as a sharp deterioration in health, the appearance of signs of dementia, the loss of loved ones and friends.

These alarming results can have a serious impact on the development of gerontology and psychology in general. They focus the attention of researchers on the so far little known correlation between mental stress of various types and mental and somatic states.

Interestingly, the same study revealed an unexpected positive point. It turned out that those people who have a high intellectual and socio-cultural level suffer much less from loneliness. Obviously, they are able to develop behavioral strategies that help them withstand stress - this is the ability to empathize, the desire to cultivate social connections, the tendency to thinking and reflection.