From the news media to Twitter, we hear complaints of firecracker noise. Fireworks seem to be lighting up the skies across the nation. Are people looking for bright spots during so many days of social isolation? Fireworks can be a break from the alone time experienced during this pandemic. Taking a journey within through mindfulness, gratitude, and creative visualization, one can create a certain peace of mind. However, fireworks do provide an immediate release in which people are sharing the beauty of bursts of color in the sky. Being alone can be difficult and, in fact, loneliness is considered a public health problem.
As early as 1975 a landmark study by Drs. Lisa Berkman and S. Leonard Syme, in the American Journal of Epidemiology, reported that “people who lacked social and community ties were more likely to die in the follow-up period than those with more extensive contacts.” The sample included 6,928 adults in Alameda County, California and a subsequent nine year follow-up. (1)
More recently, the loneliness factor was underscored by Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D., professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University. In testimony before the U.S. Senate Aging Committee, April 2017, she cited “evidence that isolation (or social disconnection) is increasing.”
Risk factors include: living alone, being unmarried (single, divorced, widowed), no participation in social groups, fewer friends, strained relationships. Retirement, and physical impairments (e.g., mobility, hearing loss) may also increase risk for social isolation. Senate Testimony
Fast forward three years to our new “normal” and we see an even greater increase in loneliness because we are disconnected from friends and families. Socialization recommendations from public health groups, psychologists, and social workers no longer apply. This is an especially difficult time for seniors who can no longer go to centers with planned activities, attend church services, or visit with loved ones.
Nonetheless, a journey within can release anxiety and create a certain peace of mind.
Mindfulness: An ancient practice, the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, Special Report, defines mindfulness as “a conscious effort to be completely present — to set aside worries,expectations, and other thoughts and emotions and be fully aware of the current moment. By appreciating what you have and not constantly longing for something else, you learn to be content and to live with renewed purpose.” (2)
Despite pandemic constraints, try to appreciate the time and freedom to be present in the moment and express gratitude for the here and now.
Gratitude: Begin an expression of gratitude with yourself. Be grateful for who you are. Be grateful for the moments of peace you experience through mindfulness. Be grateful for your home. Buy a journal and begin making gratitude notes throughout the day. Researches have found scientific evidence of the value of gratitude in terms of lifting one’s spirits. Robert Emmons, Ph.D., psychologist and professor, UC Davis, is often considered the gratitude guru. He has often said: “Attitude change often follows behavior change. By living the gratitude that we do not necessarily feel, we can begin to feel that gratitude that we live.” Let Gratitude Bring Back Your Smile
Creative visualization: This technique is a way of training your mind to create images of peace and serenity. You can do this by seeing wishes and dreams. Create scenarios that you wish to see take place ranging from new love, to a vacation, to a new job or home. In reality these may not play out the way you imagine, but creative visualization is a tool to help you focus on the possibilities.In a special project for members of the Yale community, Dr. Roni Beth Tower presented “Coping with Disaster-Related Stress During the Coronavirus.” In one of the imagery exercises, she asks: “If you could go anywhere right now, no constraints, where would you go?”
For people who drift into a dream world of hopeful anticipation, it becomes easier to let go of the unhappiness of being lonely.
The benefits of mindfulness, gratitude, and creative visualization are simple, yet fulfilling. Each activity is a way of lifting ourselves from the unhealthy aspects of loneliness and bringing us to moments of peace.
If we view social isolation from the perspective of peace — with the opportunity to journey within — the loneliness factor seems to dissipate. We all need time for solitude to help create a positive dialogue within ourselves. The challenge of solitude is to find a regular time and place to seek the serenity that connects us with our intuitive inner voice.
Copyright 2020 Rita Watson
References
Berkman, L., Syme, S.L., (1979). Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: a nine-year follow-up study of Alameda County residents. American journal of Epidemiology, 1979. pp 186 to 204.
Mindfulness, Learning to Live in the Moment. Supplement to Mayo Clinic Health Letter, October 2013, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Rochester, MN.