Loneliness hurts. We all heard it once, but perhaps we did not stop to think that it hurts in the most physical and literal sense of the word. Some studies have subscribed to this connection between Loneliness and pain In the past. Nevertheless, they were not as full as the one who recently published a team of scientists from University of London.
In their study, they participated More than 250,000 patients with a very diverse agefrom 15 to 100 years. In addition, they belonged to 139 different countries, With its various cultures and economies. All these data belong to a number of polls between until 2024, in which they are collected medical information, Both physical and mental.
It was evident that the volunteers who mentioned the lonely The likelihood of physical pain is more likely. It was also more likely that loneliness was associated with Health problems and psychological pain. In fact, it seems that just physical pain contributes to psychological suffering. And the worst thing is that the percentage of people who said that they felt lonely are very high. Loneliness is a very serious epidemic in which We must look for a solutionThe field is all the more, it is not as simple as not to have people nearby. Someone can feel lonely, even being surrounded by people.
How were loneliness and pain?
He 22.7 % of participants In these polls, they said that they were very alone over the past 24 hours. It is interesting that many of them explained that they had a lot Friends or family For those who go. Despite this, they felt very lonely.
Those people who usually felt alone had more than twice as much as possible physical pain, almost twice as many health problems and 25.8 % more risk of psychological suffering.
Logically, excellent relations with Cultural context And, above all, the socio -economic level. However, although some of the poorest countries have registered the highest rates Loneliness, pain and sufferingAssociations did not follow models of economic development perfectly. Someone can feel surrounded by people and with many millions in the bank.
Age is less relevant than it seems
It is true that older people are more likely to feel lonely. In addition, age -related pains make them feel also More physical painHowever, the field in the relationship between loneliness and pain was consistent for all age groups. Of course it was Quite marked in women than men.
What is this relationship?
In this study, he only sought to demonstrate with a very wide sample of people that the relationship between loneliness and pain is much more than an anecdote. However, they do not stop to clarify the reasons.
Yes, other studies have done this in the past. For example, in 2022 it was shown that older people who feel lonely Higher levels of C -reactive protein In the blood. This is a protein that is synthesized in the liver and rises when there is some inflammation. Inflammation is close to pain, so the reason, in the visible one, is as follows. Perhaps loneliness triggers psychological suffering, which, in turn, causes an inflammatory state in the body. Although sometimes it can be the other way around. First flour, and then loneliness. In any case, as a result, you can feel more physical pain. Pain that is not always solved with analgesics. In some cases Psychological therapy Be very useful to deal with him.
Source: Hiper Textual
