Link Between Loneliness And Addiction during COVID 19
Loneliness is basically considered as a negative state but we people are sometimes in need of some free and me time, this is basically an alone time. It is necessary to recharge our mind and body. It is basically innate in nature but some of us feels alone all the time. It is basically a state of distress and comes with our desire to be in social connections. When a person does not experience the social connection, he/ she may feel that they are socially disconnected from others and hence they start to feel lonely. Some people are also there who feel lonely although they are in crowd. They may feel lonely even when they are in a long lasting marriage and having kids or they may feel loneliness even when they are surrounded by many people throughout the day. Loneliness may threat you not only mentally but it can have an impact on your mental health also.
Some people love to be alone so that they may ignore the stressful life they are facing. They may go and sit in the park for hours and observe the scenery over there and watch the children playing. They are doing this to forget their stressful life and situations. Their mood may become peaceful and joyful there. They don’t feel and think that they are in solitude.
Loneliness affects the social life as well as the personal life of the individual. It is always a risk factor for depression, type 2 diabetes, weak immune systems, arthritis, poor sleeping patterns and stress etc. The people who feel alone are lacking social support which they need to overcome their low mood and sadness. In this COVID 19 pandemic the people who were living in isolation with a feeling of loneliness were at a higher risk of anxiety, depression and more isolation. To cope up with their loneliness they may start taking some drugs or may be alcohol. These are basically considered as unhealthy habits or methods but people do take their help.
Addiction During COVID 19
Researchers have said that during this pandemic there are more cases of addiction and there are also the relapse of those who have already came out of their earlier addiction. Addicted people are also at a high risk of diseases with lungs because their immune system is affected with may be the substance abuse or alcohol taking. They are also at a high risk of cardio vascular diseases.
Connection Between Addiction And Loneliness
People who are lonely can take the help of alcohol or some substance use to overcome this feeling of loneliness, rejection or the feeling that no one is with them or love them. It usually becomes a way to cope with the feelings that they are having. It is their way with which they can numb their pain. Substance use creates a wrong sense in a person and they feel they are totally secure. And when they are not in that state as to when they were having drugs or having some substance use, they might again feel restless and the earlier thoughts started racing back and forth their mind. They are again thinking about the same thoughts and that too in the same manner.
People who use substances or take alcohol to cope with the feelings of loneliness usually avoid their feelings. They are basically in a state of denial, fear or guilt of something. They sometimes feel that they are trapped and cannot come out of the situation. They are hurt and angry and with this they are also hurting the people who are surrounding them. People who are lonely also have a lack of sleep or disrupted sleeping issues, suicidal thoughts or even the feelings of harming themselves.
Like mentioned above loneliness can lead to addiction, this can be vice-versa also. Addiction may also make you feel lonely. With the increase of addiction people start to destroy their relationship and they also start to fight and criticize their friends and hence they are going away from them. This makes the person lonelier and they go more in social isolation.
