Summary: Researchers examine the psychological, physical and economic consequences of loneliness and how stronger social connections can reduce its harm.
Source: Particle
Although friendship feels priceless, loneliness carries a measurable cost. A Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report estimates loneliness costs Australians about $2.7 billion a year, and the problem has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the pandemic began, reported feelings of loneliness have risen across Australia. Western Australia recorded relatively high social connectivity, scoring second only to the Australian Capital Territory, while Queensland and South Australia ranked lowest for social connectedness.
The word “loneliness” is only a few hundred years old, and its negative connotations emerge in literature toward the end of the 18th century. That said, the experience it describes is long-standing: in Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well loneliness overlaps with lovesickness, and in Hamlet some scholars argue Ophelia’s isolation contributed to her tragic end.
Loneliness also appears in older cultural narratives: the D’harawal dreaming story Bah’naga and Mun’dah (The Goanna and the Black Snake), retold by botanist Frances Bodkin, describes Bah’naga as a man so solitary that “a woman never before said soft words to him.”
This raises a question: are modern concepts of emotion being read back into ancient tales, or have communal cultures long experienced forms of loneliness too?
THE GENDER GAP IN LONELINESS
Research shows the economic burden of loneliness falls more heavily on women than on men in Australia. Curtin University economist Associate Professor Astghik Mavisakalyan, who has studied the economic impacts of loneliness, notes the causes of the gender gap are complex and not fully understood.
“There are likely multiple and interacting reasons behind gender differences in loneliness,” she explains. One factor may be reporting bias: loneliness is self-reported, and women may feel less stigma about admitting they are lonely. Another possibility is that women are socialised to hold higher expectations for their relationships and may feel lonelier when those expectations are unmet.
“It is also possible that women are brought up with higher expectations for social relationships. They may be more prone to feeling lonely if these are not met.”
Mavisakalyan also highlights social roles: men often have more workplace social contact during the years many women remain at home caring for children. The study finds Australian women report the highest levels of loneliness around age 17, with a decline through adulthood and a renewed rise after age 65. For men, loneliness tends to peak around age 50.
WHAT DOES LONELINESS FEEL LIKE?
Momentary or chronic loneliness affects the body as well as the mind. Episodes of intense loneliness trigger higher cortisol release, and extended loneliness is associated with persistently elevated cortisol levels. Cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, readies us for fight-or-flight by increasing blood glucose and mobilising energy.
For a social species, isolation signals vulnerability. The stress response may prepare the body to defend itself, while the emotional pain of loneliness motivates us to reconnect. Researchers describe this as an “evolutionary mismatch”: behaviours that once enhanced survival can become harmful in modern contexts—for example, evolved preferences for calorie-rich foods now fuel obesity.
THE PHYSICAL IMPLICATIONS
Loneliness is common and consequential. The 2018 Australian Loneliness Report found about 25% of Australians feel lonely, and 30% say they do not belong to a group of friends. Loneliness correlates with a range of adverse health outcomes, including cognitive decline—studies estimate around a 2% decrease in certain cognitive measures over time—and a higher risk of dementia.
Much of the estimated $2.7 billion annual cost of loneliness stems from increased medical care tied to deteriorating health. But the relationship between loneliness and chronic disease is complex: does illness lead to isolation, or does loneliness raise disease risk? Community psychologist Professor Tegan Cruwys of the Australian National University points out they are distinct phenomena that often arise from the same social causes.
“The overlap in who experiences depression and loneliness reflects how social harms—exclusion, discrimination and disadvantage—drive both loneliness and clinical depression,” she says.
Mavisakalyan’s findings suggest loneliness itself contributes to poorer health and riskier health behaviours. “More than half of women and men aged 65 who feel lonely most of the time report poor health—around twice the rate of those who do not feel lonely,” she notes.
Chronic loneliness can alter behaviour and trigger the immune system’s inflammatory response. Long-term inflammation is implicated in many conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, certain cancers, arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
Both Cruwys and Mavisakalyan recommend community participation as a key remedy. If rising individualism has eroded social bonds, rebuilding community connections and collective identities may help reverse the loneliness trend and its health and economic impacts.
About this loneliness research news
Author: Thomas Crow
Source: Particle
Contact: Thomas Crow – Particle
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