Psychology
Today has a great article from May 3rd, 4 Steps to Combat Loneliness
and Why You Won't Take Them. I include part of it below. Click on
the Psychology Today Logo to read the full article. It is
worth reading. However, as great as the article is, an important addition, Step 5, should be included to the
tools available in combating loneliness: Second Life!
You can join Second Life for free! You don't need to spend a lot of money to enjoy meeting other SL citizens (SL'ers). Second Life is a virtual world created for human connection. This means that no matter who you are, where you're from, your education/status, ability/disability, or income you can still come in-world and meet others whom you will enjoy, feel comfortable with, and even feel safe connecting within a diverse global population.
How does Second Life help combat loneliness?
Ever been to a football game or a busy restaurant? People everywhere?! If we are there "alone" at such events it doesn't feel as good as we could feel when we choose who comes with us, right? In Second Life you can connect with people whom you feel comfortable and safe with. I've met a lot of people in my 14 years in SL and many talked about things they would never say out loud to anyone in real life. Anonymity has its benefits! You can share deepness and sincerity of feelings on a level usually reserved for our closest friends, family or loved ones in real life! Now that's connection!
Well, "yeah," you say, "but that isn't real loneliness!"
You're right!
Real soul-crushing, medically concerning, psychologically alarming loneliness is on the rise around the world. We can blame the Covid Pandemic and many other factors. What lonely people need isn't a room full of people or a bunch of acquaintances, people need validation and communication with people they care about and who care about them. Without this type of connection people can wither away into a black hole of existence or even die from loneliness. There are valid reasons people who live in loneliness can't or won't get out and meet others (time, money, disability, more), but in Second Life you can meet a lot of people in the comfort of your own home without spending a dime.
Second Life is unlike any other online game. You are not out stealing cars, shooting at battleships, flying an aircraft (although you can do all of these in SL), you are meeting new people with whom you can network and becomes friends. Research states that if you meet & greet 100 people, then, 3 of those may become best friends or even soulmates.
The article posted here is an exceptionally good read, and it gives you the 4 steps to combat loneliness. It also says you "won't take the advice and you won't implement the 4 steps" to stop feeling lonely. If you often feel lonely, misunderstood, invisible or feel detached and drifting, I hope you do read the article and use it! But let's not stop there, though, BECAUSE we are adding a 5th Step! In real life you may live in an area of 2,000 or 7 million people, but you can't just walk out your front door and meet & greet 100 people a day. The 5th step is a simple one: Join Second Life.
How a fixed mindset undermines your attempts to develop your social connections.
The ability to have authentic human connections is vital to happiness and health. Edward Diener (aka Dr. Happiness) and Martin Seligman (2002) documented that people ranking in the top 10 percent of happiness have the strongest connections with friends and families.
Moreover, loneliness may kill you. Loneliness is defined as the discomfort felt when you perceive a gap between desired social connections and experienced connections. The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy (2020) described loneliness as a public health crisis underpinning problems such as obesity, drug addiction, depression, and suicide. Loneliness has been likened to smoking 15 cigarettes per day (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015)
Although older adults have been shown to experience a high level of loneliness, recent studies indicate that loneliness may be an epidemic on the rise in teens and younger adults. (Lee et al., 2020).
Much has been written online about what to do if you suffer from loneliness:
- Volunteer (giving back to others has been demonstrated to decrease loneliness).
- Get involved (join a club, get active in a sport, or local government).
- Learn something new in a group setting (take a course, join others with similar hobbies).
- Reconnect with friends and family (show gratitude and deepen your relationship with them).
If you feel lonely, you may receive such advice from others. Combatting loneliness sounds simple: follow the above recommendations and live a more joyful and healthy life. But just like advice to get more exercise or eat more healthfully or stop smoking, there are many steps and many obstacles to increasing your social connectedness. Potential obstacles may be driven by economic inequalities, lack of resources, and social marginalization. Another potential obstacle is a fixed mindset about loneliness.
...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments