LONELINESS AWARENESS WEEK

Loneliness – a familiar ache, a yearning for connection. This June from 10th to 16th marks the Loneliness Awareness Week. The goal is to motivate people to talk about loneliness, to remove the stigma around it and to focus on the positive side, as in to see it as ray of hope to fill the void people are experiencing. This week was first launched by Marmalade Trust, UK in 2017. It grows each year in UK and internationally. This week also encourages people to spare sometime from their schedule for cheering up people who are lonely.

Loneliness is just not being alone it is the absence of significant connections. Often people misunderstand it with being alone. The only difference between the two is social connections. When a person is alone, they wants to be with himself and they enjoys being alone rather than with people but when a person is lonely, all they want is to talk, laugh and be with someone. Sometimes a person can be lonely even if there are people around them. It depends on how much connection they need!

Another taboo associated with loneliness is that only elderly people suffer from it. It is true that with an estimate 1 in 4 elderly people experience loneliness. I feel that loneliness is something which can happen to anyone irrespective of age or gender. Even a 10 year old can be lonely. A person who is lonely craves for basic human interactions. There is a need of social connection which is not fulfilled and at times a person does feel helpless and that’s what makes it worse.

I know only remembering the concern of loneliness for a day or a week won’t help people who are suffering but we can educate people about it. So that they can understand what it is and take care of people around them.

This year’s theme for Loneliness Awareness Week is “Random Acts of Connections” which signifies the importance of small and everyday interactions. Some ways through which people can connect

1. Smile at a stranger – it’s a small gesture and can brighten someone’s day

2. Connect with an old friend

3. Interact with neighbour or invite them for coffee

4. Volunteering – it’s a great way to meet people and your act of kindness will make you happy

People can take or encourage others to take these small steps to overcome loneliness. Apart from this social media campaigns, creative awareness campaigns at schools and colleges can help in raising more awareness about it. Lastly, I want to share a beautiful quote I came across – “There’s nothing abnormal about loneliness.” By Paula Stokes.

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