Today we're talking about loneliness; not to be confused with introversion,
or social anxiety, while those subjects are worthy topics.
Loneliness actually has been defined in many ways:
"a state of solitude or being alone," "inability to find meaning in one's life...."
Okay, this is already a downer, so look at a picture of a panda.
Aw, it's cute! Now I want a panda.
I'm gonna overnight one to my crib. I'm gonna do that.
Of course, we're not the only generation to experience loneliness,
even though listening to The Weeknd really does make it feel like that.
Health insurance provider Cigna recently published a study citing that 18-22 year olds
have the highest "loneliness score," followed by millennials,
then Generation X... so yeah, young people, we just killin' it right now.
Generation Z cited that they feel people are around them but they aren't really with them,
feel shy, and they feel like people don't know them very well.
The old man in me really wants to say, "these kids right now are out here spending too much
time on the Twitters and the Fortnites!", but that's not exactly what Cigna found.
Cigna cited lack of an IRL social life as part of the problem,
saying that "levels of in-person interactions,
physical and mental wellness, and life balance"
are better predictors of loneliness than social media alone.
So, if your IG game is on point but you like to hang out with your friends, you should be good...
but if social media IS hanging out with your friends, go outside! Humans are social mammals
and need social interaction to survive; that's part of why solitary confinement in prisons
is so torturous. Why do that to ourselves on the outside?
"Y'all best go out to the quarry for some stickball and a swim!"
You know, I'm not doing this voice again.
One study breaks down three types of loneliness.
Situational loneliness is when unpleasant events or circumstances cause us to retract from society.
Developmental loneliness can hinder our capacity to balance individualism and intimacy.
(Psychological disorders like depression or schizophrenia could cause developmental loneliness).
And finally, internal loneliness,
when a self-perception of worthlessness intensifies the feeling of being alone.
This got dark again, bring in another panda pic.
Lifestyle influences our neurophysiology,
so lonely people perceive the world very differently.
For instance, people suffering from loneliness
tend to see benign events as more threatening, living in self-defense mode…
even in their sleep. Some research suggests that lonelier people have more restless sleep patterns,
which could impact cognitive development.
Research suggests that there are neural correlates for loneliness.
A 2009 study revealed that lonelier people showed less activation in brain centers
associated with reward when viewing pictures of people in pleasant situations,
and less activation in parts of the brain linked to empathy
when viewing images of people in unpleasant situations.
Other researchers also discovered that neurons in the dorsal raphe nuclei are sensitive to social isolation.
Those neurons in question, taken together with the ones from the ventral striatum,
deal with the reward neurotransmitter dopamine.
So, it's possible that low social interactions
= less dopamine = less feeling good. Of course, the latter study was run with mice,
so more research is always needed.
On top of that, a meta-analysis from 1980 to 2015 found that
loneliness and its accompanying depression was as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day,
and is a risk factor for mortality. This is so dark; bring in the pandas!
Please, don't leave, don't leave! I'm not gonna leave you on a downer.
Loneliness is a social epidemic, yes, but there are remedies.
Don't replace friendships and happiness
with likes and text messages. Go out and meet people!
Humans need social interaction in real life – it's developmentally necessary.
Easier said than done, but remember, you're not alone in feeling alone.
And if you'll excuse me, I have a panda waiting for me at home.
I did order one, and I can't wait to play with it.
Yo, thanks so much for watching. If you're like, "ooh, I need a little bit more loneliness content!"
watch this video about what solitary confinement does to your brain.
And if you're like, "that's a little bit too dark for me," watch this video about pandas watching...
watching porn? Watch this video about pandas watching porn.
Thanks for watching my video, and also, subscribe to Seeker for more videos!
Pandas watching porn? I'm definitely gonna hafta watch that.
I gotta find out what's going on with pandas.
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