What You Need to Know About the Loneliness Epidemic and How Humanistic Medicine Can Help

National Headquarters | October 30, 2018

Nowadays, we have more ways to communicate and stay connected than ever before. But, has the quality of our relationships improved as a result? Some may argue yes, but former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy says not quite.

“During my years caring for patients, the most common pathology I saw was not heart disease or diabetes; it was loneliness,” he writes in the Harvard Business Review. He’s coined it as an ‘epidemic,’ suggesting loneliness is the underlying factor that gives way to the illnesses plaguing most Americans today.

How then, does it supposedly do so, what qualifies it as an epidemic, and what role can today’s medical professionals play in addressing this quiet threat to our health?

In an interview with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, Sasse mentions, “statistically, it’s less likely that you know the person who lives two doors down. And, yet, knowing the person two doors down is correlated with happiness- more social media friends [aren’t].”

Poring through countless studies, Dr. Murthy found “loneliness and weak social connections are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking fifteen cigarettes a day.” He also writes it causes a greater potential “risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, and anxiety.” How?

“Loneliness causes stress, and long-term or chronic stress leads to more frequent elevations of a key stress hormone, cortisol,” Dr. Murthy explains. And, the effects of cortisol and chronic stress are well-documented.

Humanistic medicine, also referred to as patient-centered or values-based medicine, can be defined as the practice of compassion “to help our fellow humans and relieve suffering.” And, physicians who operate this way exhibit a key attitude and habit, according to Dr. Carol M. Chou.
In her survey of residents’ observations of physicians at the University of Pennsylvania, she discovered humanistic physicians approach “patients with a sense of humility and real curiosity about their lives, especially toward those patients to whom it may seem difficult to relate.” This outlook helps foster an earnest connection between patient and doctor.