Loneliness is a state of mind linked to wanting human contact but feeling alone. People can be alone and not feel lonely, or they can have contact with people and still experience feelings of isolation.
Loneliness endangers our health — many have experienced this firsthand during the Corona pandemic. Researchers show that being alone could be associated with harmful eating habits.
One in four households in Germany is a single-person household. The Coronavirus pandemic was characterized by loneliness, especially for these people. Loneliness has long-term effects on health.
Researchers at the University of California wanted to find out how loneliness affects our brains. The team, led by researcher Xiaobei Zhang, focused primarily on changes in our eating habits. The new study shows that loneliness could change fundamental processes in our brains.
Researchers investigate loneliness and eating habits.
The study examined 93 women. All participants’ body mass index (BMI) was measured, and the proportion of body fat compared to lean body mass was also identified. The test subjects also provided information on their perceived social isolation, eating habits, and psychological resilience.
In the study, 39 of the 93 women reported being lonely. This group also had a higher body fat percentage than the other test subjects. Poorer diet quality, unhealthy eating habits, and poorer mental health were also more common among lonely women.
However, these results are purely a correlation. The researchers have not proven that loneliness directly leads to a higher body fat percentage. A higher body fat percentage may just as well promote loneliness. The direction of the effect is, therefore, still unclear.
Loneliness could change brain activity.
Previous research projects show that loneliness also influences the fundamental structures of our brains. “Loneliness can, for example, be associated with shrinking the hippocampus,” explains Dirk Scheele, a professor of social neuroscience at the Ruhr University Bochum. The hippocampus is the part of our brain that plays a key role in memory formation. According to Scheele, loneliness can lead to a decline in memory performance.
The researchers from California also identified physical and cognitive differences between the lonely women and the other test subjects. The lonely women’s brains reacted more strongly to food stimuli, which the researchers found out by showing the test subjects pictures of food. The lonely test subjects showed stronger brain activity in the parietal lobe, which is responsible for processing the body’s own signals, such as hunger.
The charm of sweetness
What is particularly interesting is that the researchers identified a difference between the stimuli of sweet and savory foods. When the lonely test subjects encountered sweet stimuli, their control mechanism in the brain was less active. The changes could indicate that sweet stimuli are given a higher priority. This can lead to a more intense craving that is also less controllable.
Similar processes can also be observed in people with drug or food addictions. They could explain why lonely people often exhibit unhealthier eating behavior, such as reward-oriented eating, cravings, or food addiction. But what is so special about the taste of sweets? Scientist Scheele has an answer. “Sweet foods have an advantageous effect on our brain and are also processed differently,” he explains. Sweets could be a better consolation for lonely people.
Hypothesis: Loneliness costs energy
The researchers at the University of California go even further with their assumption: Loneliness research holds that lonely people tend to have negative expectations of their environment. They are often more alert and do not trust their fellow human beings as easily.
The research team from California concludes that this constant state of alert requires a higher energy consumption. The body has to somehow cover this demand. This is where sweets come into play: socially isolated people may, therefore, have a stronger craving for sweet foods, which causes blood sugar levels to skyrocket and provide quick energy.
Correlation does not imply causality.
“The study’s results are plausible,” says Dirk Scheele. However, one must remember that the researchers’ statements should be viewed with some reservations because causality is still unclear. According to the study, there is at least a connection between loneliness, unhealthy eating habits, and obesity. However, Scheele still needs to investigate the direction of this connection.
However, the research design could also be adjusted if it were carried out again, criticizing Scheele: “It is questionable whether the results can be transferred to men.” He believes it would be sensible to repeat the USA study and examine male subjects. Previous studies have shown that loneliness has different effects on men’s and women’s brains. Male brains often show even more significant changes.
Loneliness: A complex field of research
According to Dirk Scheele, neurologically, it is not easy to research loneliness: “Loneliness is still a complex feeling that cannot be traced back to the structures of a single region. We assume that changes occur in very different regions.”
The US study is essential in basic research for building new studies. For society and politics, it highlights the dangers of loneliness for the health of every individual. “Although loneliness is not an illness, it can be proven that it is a risk factor for many mental illnesses and may now also harm our eating habits,” explains Dirk Scheele.
Being alone is not a question of age.
Many people suffer from loneliness, especially at the turn of the year—including an increasing number of younger people. In Düsseldorf, the Diakonie invites people to lunch. In addition to a warm meal, there is also social contact.
Elisabeth Niesen and Elfriede Lück have now become perfect friends. At some point, Niesen decided to help Lück in her everyday life because she needed support at 90 years old. But they both benefit from it. Both had to struggle with loneliness.
Together, the day becomes more colorful. “We have fun, and she comes alive again. If I don’t pick her up, she is sad. You have to suppress that. That’s why we go and meet up,” says Niesen.
They met through the Düsseldorf-Gerresheim Diakonie. The Diakonie invites people to lunch almost every day. A warm meal that is also meant to warm the heart. It is an offer for people who otherwise hardly have any social contacts.
Lück has been here for ten years. “I get out and about. That was the best thing I could do. It’s good for me. Otherwise, I might not be alive anymore,” she says to another lady who is also a guest here.
Reasons for loneliness are varied.
Most of the people here have lost their partners, and some have fallen into a hole because of this, they say. The conversations here are good and help in sad moments arising from loneliness. “I feel lonely when I’m alone at home. Since we have found a wonderful group here that has taken us in, I can say it is my safety net,” says 85-year-old Brigitte Bill.
Her neighbor, Hildegard Pankonin, talks about her cat, who died shortly after her husband. “I was in a deep hole. At some point, our husbands died. We were all lonely,” she says.
Psychologist Maike Luhmann has researched loneliness at the Ruhr University in Bochum for ten years. The causes are varied. “We know, for example, that people who are poor or have a low income have an increased risk of loneliness. People with health problems tend to become lonelier. But of course, people who simply have a small social network or are single also tend to be lonelier than others,” she says of her results.
Loneliness has social consequences.
Luhmann says that loneliness is an important social issue because it can lead to various unwanted consequences. “For example, mental and physical illnesses. However, some findings show that lonely people tend to be closer to more extremist political positions, lose trust in society, and so on. So loneliness can have a whole range of social consequences.”
For a long time, loneliness has only been seen as a problem for older people. Among other things, old age brings health problems, limitations, and, of course, social isolation, says Luhmann. “But loneliness has never been just a problem for older people, and the pandemic, in particular, has changed things. The pandemic has made younger people, teenagers, and adults, particularly, lonelier. Now you can say that it really affects all age groups.”
Study on loneliness among young people
On behalf of the North Rhine-Westphalian state government, Luhmann investigated how many young people are affected by loneliness. For the study, almost 1,000 young people and adults between 16 and 20 were surveyed online, and a sample of more than 1,200 eighth-graders was evaluated.
According to the study, older adolescents and young adults feel significantly lonelier (18.5 percent) than younger adults (11 percent). Including those who only feel lonely now and then, the figure is 78 percent for older adolescents and 86 percent for younger adolescents.
Lonely people often feel ashamed. Marie Martin has decided to be open about her loneliness to combat it. She speaks openly about her experiences of loneliness and uses her reach on the Internet as an influencer.
Due to depression, the 35-year-old had initially become more withdrawn, needed a lot of time for herself, and kept canceling meetings with friends. “I’ve always been a person who draws my energy from being alone. And that’s why it wasn’t bad for me for a long time,” she says.
“At some point, nobody asked anymore.”
At times, she lived in her own world. She only realized later that she was lonely: “I noticed it when the questions gradually stopped. At some point, no one asked anymore. They met in friendship groups without me. I didn’t know anything about it anymore. That’s when I realized I was alone now.”
That’s when she realized that she had changed something. She used the Internet to find pen pals, people with similar problems with whom she could communicate confidently but relatively anonymously. That opened the door to the outside world for her again. She is now feeling much better. She quit her job as a teacher, now works as an influencer, and gives gardening tips.
But she also uses her reach to help others in a similar situation to the one she once was. She is now using social media to call on people to send postcards to people who might be feeling lonely.
Is there really more loneliness?
The proportion of lonely people is increasing—an alarming report was published by numerous media outlets last week. But the institute that provided the figures contradicts this.
It was a depressing report: More and more people in Germany are suffering from loneliness, the “Rheinische Post” reported last week — and the problem is getting worse. The figures that the newspaper cited were alarming: the loneliness rate among 45- to 84-year-olds rose by around 15 percent between 2011 and 2017, and in some age groups by almost 60 percent. And younger people are also affected.
The newspaper referred to a federal government response to an FDP query. News agencies and many media outlets, including tagesschau.de, picked up the report. But scientists who are researching the topic quickly expressed their doubts to Tagesschau. Clemens Tesch-Römer, director of the German Centre for Ageing Research Institute, spoke up. He said the report was misleading: “Loneliness is not an epidemic, and it has not increased in the last two decades.”
“Loneliness rate has remained stable since the mid-1990s.”
Curious is that in its response to people over 45, the federal government refers to the figures from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), which is compiled at Tesch-Römer’s German Center for Gerontology.
The DEAS is the most critical long-term study on aging in Germany and is funded by the Ministry of Family Affairs. Scientists have been studying the aging process for more than 20 years. More than 16,000 people were surveyed on the subject of loneliness. According to the researchers, the results led to a different conclusion than what was read last week.
“It turns out that the probability of being lonely has fluctuated between seven and ten percent over the last 20 years,” says Tesch-Römer. The risk of loneliness is similar among 40-year-olds and those over 80 but decreases in the decades in between. There are always fluctuations. However, it shows that “The loneliness rate has remained stable since the mid-1990s.”
Loneliness and social isolation
For the German Ageing Survey, people aged 40 and over are questioned about various aspects of their lives – including loneliness and social isolation. While these are often used synonymously in public debate, science clearly distinguishes between the two terms: According to the German Center for Ageing Research, social isolation is seen as a significant lack of contact with other people, which can be described objectively. Loneliness, on the other hand, is a very subjective experience. People who objectively have many social contacts but lack emotional depth and understanding can also feel lonely.
The DEAS authors’ summary for the FDP’s inquiry sounds similar. “No evidence can be found for a strong increase, at least in the prevalence of loneliness,” it says. “An increase in the number of lonely people in the population group of 45 to 84 years is, at best, a result of the growth of this age group.”
The most recent publication of the study results is even more specific: “If social conditions do not change radically in the next decade, people aged 70 to 90 will not be more isolated or lonely than people aged 70 to 90 today,” it says.
According to Susanne Bücker, who is doing her doctorate at the Ruhr University Bochum, other studies have also reached similar conclusions. She refers to, among other things, a 2016 study that shows that people born in 1939, on average, are somewhat less lonely than those born earlier (in 1916, on average) at around the same age.
Abbreviated representation?
So, how did the report of growing loneliness come about? The federal government’s response contains concrete figures from the DEAS, which were also used in the reporting but which the researchers believe were presented in an abbreviated form and thus could be interpreted differently. As asked by the FDP, the proportion of people who have felt lonely over the past ten years is listed and compiled every three years since 2008. However, the figures only appear in the reports from 2011 onwards. However, there was a significant decline from 2008 to 2011 – and if these figures had been included, the findings would have been far less dramatic.
Over the entire period, the loneliness rate would only have increased from 8.6 to 9.2 percent – around seven percent of the previous value. And the rate among 75- to 84-year-olds has fallen by around a quarter since 2008 – from 9.9 to 7.5 percent.
“A trick that is easy to see through”
Tesch-Römer criticizes that the study contains precisely those fluctuations that appear to prove an alleged “loneliness epidemic.” “The lowest value – from 2011 with 7.9 percent – was arbitrarily compared with the highest value – 9.2 percent in 2017,” he explains. “And that already results in an increase of 16 percent.” He criticizes the approach as “not serious.” “A trick that is easy to see through. If you want to see something, you see it even if it isn’t there.”
He refers to a publication by the DEAS in which the risk of loneliness was described from 1996 to 2014. Here, too, there were repeated fluctuations in all age groups. “However, a clear trend could only be seen in the two oldest age groups of 72 to 77-year-olds and 78 to 83-year-olds,” he says – “and there the loneliness rate went down.” However, only a few nursing home residents could be surveyed.
“A major health problem.”
He explains that reports of increasing loneliness are falling on such fertile ground with the breakdown of traditional family structures. “This leads to the feeling that social relationships are splintering.” However, it is often overlooked that the younger generations increasingly find emotional support from friends.
Nevertheless, even if researchers at the German Center for Gerontology are not currently seeing an increase in loneliness, no one can say how things will develop. “That could change, for example, because many older people still have children,” says Tesch-Römer. However, many scientists warn against overestimating the risk of loneliness in older age because they fear that such a fear could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Regardless of the rate, it is clear that loneliness can be dangerous for those affected. “People who are lonely are constantly under stress,” says Tesch-Römer. “This puts a strain on the cardiovascular system.” People sleep worse, recover less, and are more susceptible to illness. “Even eight to ten percent are enough to say: yes, this is a major health problem,” says Tesch-Römer. “But please don’t sensationalize it. Reports about a supposed ‘loneliness epidemic’ are feeding a media debate that is not really productive.”
Loneliness – the growing suffering
Apparently, more and more people in Germany are suffering from loneliness. This starts with young people, according to figures from the federal government. For those affected, loneliness often has health consequences.
Loneliness can be tormenting—and apparently, more and more people in Germany are affected by it. The Rheinische Post reports this, citing a response from the federal government to an FDP query.
According to this, the proportion of people aged 45 to 84 who feel lonely rose significantly by around 15 percent between 2011 and 2017. In 2017, 9.2 percent of people in this age group felt lonely. In some age groups, the increase was as high as 59 percent. Problems are already apparent among young people: one in four said they sometimes or rarely feel lonely. Girls are more often affected than boys.
Many seniors are also worried about increasing loneliness, as revealed by a study conducted by the Federal Center for Health Education a few weeks ago.
Being alone can make you sick.
Loneliness often has consequences for health: “Social isolation in particular hurts the occurrence and progression of chronic diseases,” the federal government is quoted as saying. There is also talk of increased mortality. SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach quoted research results in the “Welt am Sonntag” newspaper, according to which loneliness often triggers psychological illnesses such as depression, but also severe cardiovascular diseases or dementia.
Politics is also in demand.
Therefore, FDP health expert Andrew Ullmann called for a strategy to combat loneliness. In his opinion, this includes innovative housing and mobility concepts. Health literacy must also be promoted. The SPD had previously called for a government commissioner to deal with loneliness and the damage it causes in society.
Experts assume that the number of people who feel alone will continue to rise because of digitalization. There is already talk of a “loneliness epidemic” that has consequences not only for those affected but also for those insured and the economy: Medical treatments such as therapies take a long time and are expensive. In addition, those affected are missing from the job market.
Appeal from the Minister for Family Affairs
Use offers to help against loneliness.
Christmas is a challenging time for many people who feel lonely. Family Minister Paus calls on people to help them use telephone counseling “without hesitation.” Loneliness is increasing – in all age groups.
People alone and lonely at Christmas should be bold and turn to existing support services. Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus has called for this. “For most people, the best thing about Christmas is the community and togetherness in the family circle. If you cannot experience this sense of belonging and humanity, these days can be excruciating,” Paus told the editorial network Germany. Telephone counseling and on-site facilities are then available.
Paus also warned that loneliness is becoming more widespread due to the energy crisis and inflation. “When people are poor, they are much more affected by loneliness,” she said. You can’t buy social contacts, but it costs money to participate in social life. And without money, there is a great risk of withdrawing from society until you feel lonely.”
The problem in all age groups
The Family Ministry has noted that loneliness is increasing in all age groups. “The idea that older people suffer from loneliness is wrong,” Paus continued. The younger generation is somewhat particularly affected. “Around one in five people under 30 know what it’s like to feel lonely, while among people over 60, it’s around one in four people.”
Current surveys also show that loneliness has become a major concern during the holidays. In the recently published volunteer monitor by the Malteser, around 61 percent of respondents expected additional social restrictions at Christmas. Around a third also said that they personally felt more lonely than before the pandemic.
The federal government wants to combat loneliness.
People have been lonely for a long time, but the pandemic is exacerbating the problem. Family Minister Spiegel has now launched a “Loneliness Competence Network.” The network is intended to provide practical help and advance research.
Around one in ten people living in Germany feel lonely often or very often. But some people also like being alone. Federal Minister for Family Affairs Anne Spiegel of the Green Party describes when loneliness becomes a challenge for society: “When you want to get out of isolation and can’t, that’s exactly when loneliness becomes a problem – when you suffer from it,” says Spiegel.
Loneliness has consequences
And this suffering has side effects. Psychology professor Maike Luhmann researches the topic of loneliness: “For example, we know that people who are lonely are more likely to suffer from poorer mental health, are more likely to have an unhealthy lifestyle, have reduced stress resistance – and even financial problems have been linked to loneliness.”
We still know too little about loneliness’s effects, its causes, and what can be done about them. The “Loneliness Competence Network” wants to collect and pass on research results and practical experience. The ministry is providing a reasonable million euros for this purpose.
Dagmar Hirche represents the Hamburg association Wege aus der Einsamkeit at the launch of the Kompetenznetz Einsamkeit (“Competence Network for Loneliness”). Above all, she wants to encourage: “Hey, there are solutions!” One of these solutions is organizing meetings for older people via Zoom during the pandemic—including an introduction to the digital world. Dagmar Hirche’s association has reached 18,000 people with this.
Poverty drives people into loneliness.
She has repeatedly encountered one problem: “Poverty is a huge issue. If we look at the electricity costs alone, that will drive people even more into loneliness because they don’t have the money to participate in sports. After all, they don’t have the money to participate in events because they don’t have the money to get WiFi at home.” The material situation is one thing; the other is very individual experiences such as moving separations or other breaks.
During the pandemic, the situation for children and young people has become more difficult due to school closures and quarantine rules, but silent dramas have also been played out in the homes due to the ban on visits. To compensate for the “pandemic dent” in the experience of children and young people, Minister Spiegel has now announced a package of measures. The focus is on exercise, sport, and culture, especially for children and young people.
Loneliness has so far been under-researched as a subject of research and a task for social work, local politics, and urban planning. Often, it is about creating opportunities. For example, benches in playgrounds are good places for encounters between generations. All those involved also acknowledged the work of this country’s more than 500 multi-generational houses.
“Failure is not a problem.”
For those affected and those helping, it’s all about taking the first step, says Dagmar Hirche from the “Ways out of Loneliness” association: “The important thing is: get going! And if you fail? Failure isn’t a problem! Then I always say: bad luck, I’ll do something new.” Something new could be, for example, visiting the “Loneliness Competent. Today, Family Minister Spiegel officially launched it.
Lonelier due to Corona
According to a study by the EU Commission, loneliness has increased during the Corona pandemic, especially among young adults. The feeling of loneliness has increased, particularly among singles.
During the coronavirus crisis, the frequency of feelings of loneliness among EU citizens has doubled. This is the result of a study by the scientific service of the EU Commission.
According to the study, in 2016, around twelve percent of EU citizens said they felt lonely more than half the time. This proportion rose to 25 percent in the first months of the pandemic.
According to the study, different trends in the feeling of loneliness were evident both in age groups and in European regions. Before the pandemic, it was mainly older people who suffered from loneliness. From April to July 2020, the proportion of 18- to 25-year-olds who said they felt lonely for a long time quadrupled to 36 percent.
Significant increase in Germany
Even among singles, loneliness increased by 26 percentage points during curfews. The value only increased by nine percentage points among people with partners or children.
In a country comparison, loneliness increased particularly in Northern Europe: in countries such as Norway and Sweden, around six percent of the population said in 2016 that they felt lonely more than half the time, compared to 13 percent in Southern Europe. In the first months of the pandemic, the figures rose to 22 to 26 percent across Europe. In Germany, the proportion rose from 8.8 to 24.5 percent.
However, no significant differences between genders or urban and rural areas were found. The study also found that wealth and health protect against loneliness.
Commission Vice-President calls for countermeasures.
In light of the results, the Vice President of the EU Commission, Dubravka Suica, called for countermeasures. Scientific findings suggest that loneliness can weaken social cohesion, trust in the community, and economic performance, explained the EU Commissioner responsible for democracy and demography.
For the study, the researchers evaluated interviews and existing data. However, the surveys were conducted differently in 2016 and 2020, which limits their comparability. In 2020, respondents answered questions online of their own accord. However, older participants in an online survey, in particular, are presumably more connected to social media than other people and, therefore, less lonely than the average person.
What helps to be less lonely
Loneliness is affecting more and more people, both young and old – and it can make people ill. What are other countries doing about it? The Tagesschau foreign podcast is looking for ideas and possible role models.
Many people know the feeling, but only a few dare to talk about it: loneliness. A young woman sums it up: “You’re somehow in a bubble. Suddenly, the thoughts start bombarding you. You can’t get out of it. Then I just start crying.”
The 28-year-old belongs to a better-connected generation and is more accessible than any other before. Yet many young people feel lonely all over the world. The new episode of Ideenimport—the foreign podcast of the tagesschau—shows what is being done to combat loneliness in Japan and Singapore, for example.
Japan’s participation robots
In Japan, loneliness is considered one of the biggest health problems. In a café in the Ginza district of Tokyo, people can socialize again with the help of robots.
Service robots are controlled via the Internet and are sometimes hundreds of kilometers away from pilots. They serve drinks from home and chat with guests.
In addition, Japan has a Ministry against Loneliness. This ministry brings together activities, ideas, and projects and provides low-threshold offers for anyone who feels lonely.
Singapore’s high-rise village
In Singapore, the issue of loneliness is also being considered from an urban planning perspective. Kampung Admiralty is a high-rise planned like an old Malay village – only built upwards. The residential building has short paths, roof gardens, green spaces, and communal and meeting rooms.
Anyone looking for a connection will find it in the large food court. Kindergartens and preschools are located right next to senior centers. A vertical village is an example of modern urban planning.
In the Tagesschau foreign podcast Ideenimport, ARD correspondents Ulrich Mendgen and Lena Bodewein report on loneliness in Japan and Singapore and present measures to combat it. The question always arises: What can Germany learn from these ideas?
Searching for ideas in the Tagesschau podcast
For many questions that arise repeatedly in everyday life, there are guaranteed to be good ideas, possible role models, and solutions somewhere in the world: How can we better deal with rapidly rising energy prices? What can we do to eat healthier? Why do people in other countries sometimes live longer?
The Tagesschau foreign podcast looks for and finds them—together with the correspondents in the ARD’s 30 foreign studios. Ideenimport wants to broaden the view beyond the proverbial horizon and provide fresh ideas for new input in political and social debates.
Ideenimport has been published every second Friday since April 22, 2022. You can listen to the podcast at home or on your smartphone anytime. Every second Friday morning, a new episode will be available on our website, in the ARD audio library, and on numerous other podcast platforms.
Government strategy
What helps against loneliness?
Preventing loneliness and supporting those affected: Family Minister Paus has presented a “strategy against loneliness.” Social associations welcome the initiative but are skeptical about its success.
In Berlin-Friedrichshain, no one waits for a political strategy to deal with loneliness. Here, the city mission has created a meeting place. Every Wednesday, neighbors from the Travekiez meet for a shared lunch to spend a few hours together.
Lothar likes the chili con carne. He says that’s mainly because of the company. Ten men and women of retirement age sit at Christmas-decorated tables with candles and enjoy home-cooked food—a lively group with lots of talking and laughing. Everyone is welcome, according to the motto, “Eating together is less lonely.” The city mission has been offering lunch for three years: in the summer in the courtyard and in the winter inside.
He says that Lothar also comes every Wednesday because he likes to be around people. The 83-year-old Berliner lives alone with his cat Felix. On the weekends, he goes out to collect deposit bottles to supplement his pension but also comes into contact with people: “Young and old, it doesn’t matter. People just talk to me. I find that very nice; it makes you feel young again,” says Lothar, laughing. Most of those who come for lunch live alone, looking for company, a change from loneliness.
“Loneliness is invisible.”
For Jost Berchner, the project coordinator in Travekiez, there is a need for more meeting places in the city districts than just parks or playgrounds. He calls them “moderated city places where people can come together in a good setting and experience themselves as a neighborhood.”
In addition to the weekly lunch, they have created a place in the neighborhood called “einLaden,” a shop where living room concerts, storytelling evenings, and exhibitions take place, “to bring people together, spend a little time together, and see each other as neighbors,” says Berchner. It would be nice, he says, if everyone knew more about their neighbors than just the last name on the doorbell – “so that they develop an eye and a heart for the people in the neighborhood.” Because there is a lot of loneliness that we don’t see, that flies under the radar in the hustle and bustle of the big city, is Berchner’s experience.
Berchner thinks it’s good that the federal government is now addressing the issue with its strategy paper, but it takes more than “the will to take action,” he says. He doubts whether concepts will succeed in rekindling a matter close to our hearts: “I wish it were, and our society needs it. But I have my questions.”
111 measures against loneliness
For Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus (Alliance 90/The Greens), loneliness is “one of the most pressing issues of our time.” It harms health and social interaction. Paus wants to remove the taboo from the subject of loneliness. Her department’s cross-departmental “Strategy against Loneliness” is intended to provide more support to lonely people and combat social isolation. There are ways out of loneliness, says the Minister for Family Affairs: “No one who is lonely in Germany is alone.”
The aim is to shed more light on the issue politically and scientifically. The 111 measures are intended to strengthen social cohesion and community spirit.
No further funds are planned.
Specifically, the Minister for Family Affairs wants to raise public awareness of the issue with annual action weeks and regular campaigns. To close knowledge gaps, research into the health, social, and political effects of loneliness is to be promoted. A so-called loneliness barometer is also planned. This will examine the extent and prevalence of loneliness. In addition, the federal government wants to continue promoting model projects to combat increasing loneliness in local communities and shorten waiting times for therapy places.
The Minister for Family Affairs said no further financial resources are planned to implement the strategy’s plans. The project relies on existing structures, such as sports clubs or multi-generational houses.
Caritas: “Strategy must be more than just a catchy name”
The German Foundation for Patient Protection criticizes the need for additional financial resources to implement the strategic measures. Many initiatives in the municipalities simply do not have the money, said board member Eugen Brysch: “It will therefore be important that families, friends, neighbors, former employers, clubs and churches in particular accept responsibility.” Relying on the federal government is a waste of time, says Brysch.
The German Caritas Association also warns against pure symbolic politics. The loneliness strategy must be more than just a catchy name or a loneliness barometer. The announced measures must also be adequately financed. Measuring how and where loneliness is increasing is only effective if resources are effectively invested in combating it, says the association: “It’s like fever. Here too, the fever-reducing medication is more important than the thermometer,” compares Caritas President Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa.
For Ulrich Schneider, general manager of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, it is above all people who can help with combat loneliness: “It is not just any politicians, it is not any big concepts, but it is really the neighborhood that can help, the many clubs, the visiting services. We can all help.”
Just like in the Berlin City Mission in the Travekiez, there are now coffee and pastries on the tables and people doing crafts together. If you don’t feel like doing that, you can just stay and enjoy the company—like Lothar before he goes home to Felix the cat.
Socially disadvantaged children feel lonelier.
A new study shows that the pandemic has left clear marks on children and young people: children, in particular, suffer from depressive symptoms – they are more likely to be lonely, have sleep problems, and are in pain.
Schoolchildren from poorer families in Germany suffer more frequently from loneliness, exhaustion, and sleep problems than children from better-off families. This is shown by a study in Berlin, sponsored by the health insurance company DAK-Gesundheit, in which Kiel scientists surveyed more than 14,000 boys and girls in grades five to ten. Emotional stability and satisfaction temporarily declined significantly among teenagers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Depressive symptoms are more common in poorer children.
Whether it’s the feeling of not having friends, reduced well-being, or depression, teenagers from less affluent homes are more affected. 32 percent of students often feel alone overall.
This figure was as high as 50 percent among children who rate their social status as low. In contrast, around 28 percent of children and adolescents with a high social status felt lonely.
For example, 44 percent of schoolchildren from socially disadvantaged families report being unhappy and crying frequently. Among children with a high social status, only 26 percent report such depressive symptoms more regularly.
Corona and well-being
According to the DAK study, children’s emotional stability was dented during the Corona years. “Corona has led to a massive loss of life satisfaction,” said the study author, Kiel psychologist Reiner Hanewinkel.
According to the survey, the score was at least pronounced on a scale of 0 to 10 in the 2022/2023 Corona school year at 5.8 and recently rose again to 6.8. Well-being and life satisfaction are also lower among children with subjectively low social status.
Overall, 53 percent of children feel exhausted at least once a week. The figure is as high as 63 percent among children with subjectively low social status. During the Corona pandemic last year, 58 percent of children often felt exhausted – and 69 percent of children with a low social status.
“Corona has put a lot of pressure on the children,” said State Secretary for Family Affairs Ekin Deligöz (Greens). Many children think negatively about the infection control measures taken during the pandemic. 55 percent found homeschooling somewhat stressful, 54 percent found the mask requirement – and even 69 percent found regular ventilation stressful.
Sleeping pills for teenagers
The researchers also asked about sleep quality – and found that 49 percent of school children with low social status regularly have sleep problems, i.e., at least once a week. Among children from wealthier families, the figure is only 33 percent.
The study authors attribute this, not least, to higher screen time among children with a subjectively low social status. On average, 15-year-olds sleep 8 hours and 48 minutes per day, but this figure is only 7 hours and 24 minutes for 15-year-olds.
Sleeping pills also play a role among some teenagers. According to the study, 13 percent of those with a high social status and even 22 percent of those with a low status have taken such pills. However, 62 percent of those surveyed said they slept well or very well. Among those who rated their status as low, the figure was only 47 percent.
Bullying and cyberbullying
The question of whether a child is exposed to bullying is always a major topic at parents’ evenings – not most minor bullying in chat groups. According to the survey, 60 percent of the children and young people surveyed reported never being teased, attacked, or excluded in the schoolyard or classroom.
However, 14 percent say they have been bullied in this way at least once a week. Only 5 percent feel harassed or humiliated online at least once a week – 17 percent have experienced such humiliation. 82 percent of those surveyed, on the other hand, have never been victims of cyberbullying.
Here, too, status plays a role – almost one in two people from families with less wealth say they have suffered bullying at school, but only 39 percent of those with subjectively higher social status have. In the case of cyberbullying, the figure was 27 percent of the less well-off and 17 percent of the better-off teenagers.
Crises shape childhood
The results for DAK boss Andreas Storm and State Secretary for Family Affairs Deligöz are “alarming.” Deligöz said: “We live in a time of crises – they shape our children’s childhoods.” Many are also worried about the climate crisis or the war in Ukraine – but not everyone is equally resilient. Only the day before, the Federal Statistical Office had released the figure of almost 2.2 million children and young people who are at risk of poverty in Germany.
Deligöz promised that her department would present the announced draft law for essential child benefits by the end of the summer recession to improve children’s material situation. However, the government recently disputed the amount of billions of euros allocated to this.
Loneliness is “the greatest national disease.”
More and more people in Germany are feeling lonely – especially at Christmas. This doesn’t just affect older people, says patient advocate Brysch. One in four calls to the telephone counseling service is about feeling alone.
According to the Patient Protection Foundation, loneliness is currently the most widespread disease in Germany. According to foundation director Eugen Brysch, it does not only affect very old people.
In contrast to previous years, more and more 60- to 70-year-olds report feeling lonely, says Brysch. However, more is needed for Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus to appeal to those affected to seek help on their own initiative and to use services such as telephone counseling.
“Doing something about the growing loneliness in society cannot be left to institutional providers alone,” Brysch told the DPA news agency. “It is much more important that each of us becomes more aware of this widespread problem.”
Every fourth call to the telephone counseling service
It’s essential to take personal responsibility and to have the “courage to speak up.” Christmas offers an excellent opportunity to give single people next door a gesture of togetherness. This could be a greeting or a short conversation. “Let’s press the doorbell button. That can be the key to a person-to-person connection,” said Brysch.
This year, around one in four calls to the telephone counseling service, are about loneliness, said the chairman of the nationwide telephone counseling statistics working group, Ludger Storch, to the news agency DPA. Loneliness has been a problem that has been mentioned again and again, mainly since the beginning of the corona pandemic, and affects all age groups.
“Many callers are now telling us that they are having difficulty getting back in touch with other people,” Storch said. According to him, casual relationships have broken down during the Corona period.
Paus: Christmas is particularly painful
In 2022, around 1.2 million people called the telephone counseling service, about the same number as in the previous year, Stroch said. The approximately 7,700 volunteers also answered around 43,000 emails and 37,000 chats.
Family Minister Paus called on people who are lonely at Christmas not to be afraid to turn to the help services. “For most people, the best thing about Christmas is the community and togetherness in the family circle. If you cannot experience this sense of belonging and humanity, these days can be harrowing,” the Green politician told the editorial network Germany. Telephone counseling and on-site facilities are then available.
The federal government wants to combat loneliness.
Family Minister Paus says loneliness can become a problem not only for those affected but also for society as a whole. Action weeks are intended to raise awareness. There will be no more money.
Depression, heart disease, or dementia – those who are permanently lonely have a higher risk of becoming ill. Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus of the Green Party says that millions of people in Germany are affected by loneliness.
According to the ministry, significantly more people have felt socially isolated since the coronavirus pandemic: “We know that this rose to 40 percent in Germany during the coronavirus pandemic,” said the minister. Even after Corona, this has yet to occur. “We still have high values and young and very old people are particularly affected by this.”
Paus: Clear and massive problems for democracy
The Minister for Family Affairs also sees this as a problem for the state. Namely, when more and more people withdraw because they lose trust in society: “Then that is something that makes our society fragile at its core and destroys it,” says Paus. “That is a clear and massive problem for democracy, and that is why we should all be well advised to do something about loneliness.”
The strategy paper against loneliness, which has now been approved by the Federal Cabinet, is 30 pages long. The aim is to raise awareness of the issue through action weeks. Employees in companies or clubs are to be trained to recognize signs of loneliness and to react to them. This is intended to provide greater support to socially isolated people, for example, through leisure activities and faster help with mental health problems.
There are no additional financial resources.
Paus admits this will require more than a strategy paper: “But we also know that we have a shortage of therapy places, especially for young people, that there is considerable demand and long waiting lists.” It is crucial and long overdue that there are special licenses for psychologists who can also work psychotherapeutically with young people.
The Minister for Family Affairs needs to plan further financial means to implement the strategy’s plans. The structures, such as sports clubs, in which the measures are to take effect already exist, says Paus. The German Foundation for Patient Protection criticizes this precisely. More money is urgently needed, as many initiatives in the municipalities simply need it.
Campaign in Sweden
A “Hej” against loneliness
As the days get colder and shorter in Sweden, many people’s moods suffer. The industrial city of Luleå encourages people to greet each other in a friendly manner. Does this help combat the gloom?
Anyone who lives high up in the Swedish north should be weatherproof. The first snow has already fallen, and you can only go outside wearing a thick jacket, hat, and gloves.
It could also be because the Swedes are not considered world champions of small talk. But a simple hello – Hej in Swedish – can achieve a lot, says Åsa Koski.
“There is research that shows that greeting each other has a positive effect on well-being and health,” explains the 44-year-old, who works for the city administration in Luleå. “So we felt that we had to do something!”
Feelings of loneliness – no exception
According to a survey by the health authority, one in four people in Sweden feel lonely. Older people are particularly affected. Actress Eva-Britt Tjernquist appears in a video for the campaign, which is intended to encourage friendly greetings.
She has lived alone for a long time and hopes those people, not only in Luleå, will become closer again through a little “Hej.”
Nobody likes to talk about loneliness. I miss the conversations. You come home, and you have no one to talk to. But then I pull myself together and call someone, tell them something, and ask what they think. So you have to do something and find new solutions.
No question of age
Kosaki and Tjernquist are now setting a good example on the streets of Luleå and greeting everyone who passes by warmly. On the way, Koski explains that even 16- to 29-year-olds often feel alone.
That afternoon, she stopped by a high school to discuss the topic. “Do you say hello to your classmates in the hallway?” Koski wanted to know. The group of young students in front of her seemed a little embarrassed. “When someone walks past me, I look up. But many just keep walking with a stubborn look on their faces,” one of them said.
Ice bathing can also be connected.
Sometimes, you must break your habits, like the first ice in the Baltic Sea. Pontus Wikström saws a hole in the frozen shore. Despite the sub-zero temperatures, they want to get into the water immediately. The Swede founded an ice bathing club in Luleå. Most of the 500 members come at the weekend. After bathing in the ice-cold water, they go to a small sauna.
There is almost always a place like that, says Pontus. Sweating together and bathing in ice – nothing helps better against loneliness. “It is a good way to make new contacts. Also, for many people who suffer from involuntary loneliness. Here, they feel better, at least for a while.”
Up here, just a few kilometers from the Arctic Circle, the darkest time of the year is coming. The days will get shorter and shorter until mid-December. There are many ways to avoid having to go through this alone. For example, a friendly “Hej” on the street can help, as you will find in Luleå.
