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Opinion | US surgeon general takes aim at toll inflicted by loneliness and isolation, and stigma
- Vivek H. Murthy’s job is to give Americans the best scientific information about improving health and reducing the risk of illness
- One goal is to convince people that loneliness can be as harmful as smoking, worse than obesity and lack of exercise, affecting physical, mental and emotional health
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The “nation’s doctor” is on a campaign to combat what he calls an epidemic of loneliness and isolation taking its toll on roughly half the people in the United States. His call to action to “mend the social fabric of our nation” deserves broad support, from government, professionals, institutions – and from each of us.
US Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, whose job is to give Americans the best scientific information about improving health and reducing the risk of illness, started warning about the dangers of loneliness before Covid-19 hit. Now, he says, the crisis is more urgent.
Americans are used to surgeon generals using their pulpit to lead the fight against such scourges as smoking, drug addiction and obesity.
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Now one of Murthy’s goals is to convince us that loneliness is also a serious threat to physical health and can even cause premature death. Research tells us that loneliness can cause or worsen cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression and anxiety. The effect of loneliness on a person can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It can be worse than obesity and lack of exercise.
That is not to downplay the devastating effects of loneliness on emotional and mental health. Murthy makes the case that the prevalent American attitude toward people’s mental or psychological state makes things worse. Too often, such problems are dismissed as a choice or personal flaw. There is still a stigma attached to seeking help for mental-health problems.
Getting the word out about how widespread and real such problems are, and what serious effects they can have, is an essential part of bringing the epidemic under control.
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