There’s enough evidence to show that the impact of loneliness on human beings — who have evolved to thrive in the company of others — especially at an advanced age, can be debilitating, mentally and physically.
What does it mean to get older? Creaky joints, achy bones and the return of the urge to nap, last experienced in childhood. For many, it also means a growing impatience with the company of others — the stereotype of the cranky old person yelling at kids to “get off” his lawn has some basis in reality. Yet, this last characteristic, it seems, is not a uniquely human quirk. Much like people, several species of animals, birds and insects tend to keep to themselves as they age. According to a series of papers published in a special issue of the journal, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, this is largely because it helps them to avoid catching infections and falling sick.
For humans, however, isolation does not have quite the same effects. There’s enough evidence to show that the impact of loneliness on human beings — who have evolved to thrive in the company of others — especially at an advanced age, can be debilitating, mentally and physically. In his advisory about the “epidemic of loneliness” issued earlier this year, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that lack of social connections could increase the risk of premature death by 26 per cent, besides increasing susceptibility to anxiety, depression and dementia.
All of this, of course, makes the prospect of spending one’s sunset years in one’s own company seem dire. But this is where one can take heart from animal behaviour: Being alone may not be unnatural. Indeed, for those who choose to be on their own in their dotage — not a small number — and who have long fought the mischaracterisation of solitude as “loneliness” and introversion as “sadness”, the example of ageing animals who shun the company of others may be something to live by. It turns out that even when they’re all by themselves, they’re not lonely.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 30-10-2024 at 04:00 IST
