3 signs that an older person is lonely

Although loneliness does not have to be something negative in itself, it is feeling lonely. This feeling can have many negative consequences on our mental health.

We are all susceptible to feeling alone at some point, and that this loneliness can hurt us, but of course the group that is most vulnerable to the effects of chronic loneliness are the people of the third age.

Given how damaging it is in that group, next we will see top 3 signs that an older person is lonely, what consequences it can have on your health and what we can do to reverse it.

• Related article: "The 3 phases of old age, and their physical and psychological changes"

Suffering from loneliness in old age

Everyone can be alone at some point in their life. These episodes of loneliness do not have to be a bad thing, in fact many people take advantage of their loneliness by seeing it as a moment of reflection and self-knowledge, a period in which they rest from how hectic relationships can be human. Loneliness, in itself, doesn't have to be a negative thing.

However, feeling lonely can become a heavy burden. People need the support of others, to feel that there are people who care about us, who are there so that if one day something happens to us, they move to do everything possible to prevent us from suffering danger. People who unfortunately do not have this because have ended up socially isolated, trapped in chronic loneliness, many run from suffering physical and psychological ailments of all kinds.

As time goes by, people who are alone feel increasingly sad, unmotivated and even useless, feeling that nobody cares. This is especially worrying in the case of older people, especially since they are the ones most at risk of falling into absolute loneliness, since it is at these ages that mobility problems begin to appear that prevent going out to the outside worldIn addition to the fact that you can live the loss of friends and spouses while the children have long since become independent.

What is chronic loneliness?

To detect the signs that an older person feels lonely, we must first understand what we mean by chronic loneliness. This type of loneliness is what occurs when feelings of loneliness and social isolation extend over a long period of time. The person has constant feelings of feeling lonely, distant or withdrawn from society, but You do not have the tools or facilities to reconnect on a social level. Added to this are feelings of low self-esteem, feelings of rejection and fear of other people.

Chronic loneliness can catch even the most outgoing person off guard. Although being an outgoing person can serve as a protective factor, it should be said that situational factors can also cause a person to disconnect from society, such as presenting a disease that prevents mobility, having lost important relationships or simply no longer have ways to establish contact with the relatives.

The main signs that an older person is feeling lonely

What makes an elderly person find themselves in a situation of extreme loneliness can be very varied, going from their own personality traits until the loss of meaningful relationships, either because they have become estranged or because they have dead. Likewise, we can highlight three main signs that indicate that an older person feels lonely and runs the risk of being trapped in chronic loneliness.

1. Lack of the habit of cultivating friendships

One of the main reasons older people can feel lonely and isolated is the loss of friends. With age it is inevitable that friendships will be lost, especially because the end has to come for all of us. However, If the person does nothing to try to maintain or expand his network of "contacts" with friends, the isolation will gain ground in a very damaging way..

As family members, friends or important beings for that elderly person, we can make an effort and try to make them discover new friendships, joining activities with other people their age and, thus, spending time with people with the same tastes, thus avoiding the isolation.

2. Lack of selfesteem

Anyone who has reached old age must have had an interesting life. It is logical to think that there will be more interesting life trajectories than others, but without a doubt all of them have anecdotes, stories and great feats to tell.

Taking this into account, it is worrying that an older person tells us that her life has not been interesting, that it has not been great importance and that he has nothing to tell or feel a certain pride in past achievements, no matter how minor they may reach seem.

If an older person tells us that he feels bad, that he feels that he has wasted his life, that he is worth nothing, that no one loves her and comments of this type it is quite easy to see that she feels lonely and has a serious problem with self-esteem. She needs to revalue herself by relating to other people.

For this reason it is important to emphasize the good things that you have achieved throughout your life, keep it active, show that we care and that we take it into account, that without it our life would lack something.

3. Little willingness to adapt

One of the most widespread stereotypes about old age is that older people are reluctant to new things. This is partly true, but not to the point where the person is incapable of relating to the world and cannot tolerate doing anything new.

If the elderly person shows little predisposition to adapt, we are facing a worrying sign. It can mean that He has reached such a serious point of loneliness that, despite suffering from it, he is not able to tolerate new situationsEven though these are fun and bring you interaction with other people.

To remedy this problem, what we can do is try to introduce new experiences into the life of that person, gradually and smoothly, so that they once again value the novelty, everything that the world out there can offer you.

• You may be interested in: "Loneliness and mental health"

How harmful can chronic loneliness get?

Chronic loneliness is very harmful to the health of any person, but especially in the elderly. Prolonged feelings of loneliness can have a very negative impact on health, both physically and mentally and this can be understood taking into account the important weight that the hormones.

It has been seen that chronic loneliness increases the body's levels of cortisol, a hormone known to be involved in stress. In case of secretion in large quantities, in addition to being the endocrinological basis of stress, it produces several processes in the body, including inflammation, weight gain, insulin resistance, and many other problems organic. It could be said that loneliness badly managed makes the organism sick.

But there are many other negative effects of chronic loneliness, effects that although they can also manifest themselves without the person feeling alone or being really alone, in case you have a low mood they can get worse.

• Depression
• Sleep disturbances
• Type 2 diabetes
• Heart problems
• Arterial hypertension
• Mood swings
• Substance abuse

All these problems associated with chronic loneliness are related to a shorter life expectancy, which is why it is extremely necessary to know if a person feels very lonely and if so, put a solution to it.

Chronic loneliness and neurodegeneration

Much has been studied about chronic loneliness and old age, especially its link to neurodegeneration. Feeling alone has a negative impact on the brain and it is in the elderly the moment of life that can do the most damage as it is the period in which they appear the first symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases on many occasions, especially dementias such as Alzheimer's disease.

Although not in all cases there has to be a dementia, it is true that people who feel lonely have a striking reduction in their cognitive skills. Executive functions such as concentration, decision-making and problem solving are aspects that can be damaged in older people who live alone. All this makes them more prone to accidents, which can have fatal consequences if no one helps them if they suffer serious damage.