Loneliness & Illness

[volution]

Do you believe that Loneliness can cause Heart Disease?

I sure do... I personally have experienced physical heart problems because of the effects of my loneliness. About 7 years ago, I started getting palpitations when I used to pine away at night.

Is it a cosmic coincidence that Loneliness is an anagram of One Illness - Illness of the One?

 

I've looked into the scientific/medical side of things quite recently, with great interest. The book link removed[/i]]Love and Survival by Dean Ornish is a great expedition on the link between physical illness and ailments and the lack of love an intimacy. It talks how love and intimacy can actually REVERSE heart damage! The lack of love and intimacy also have a disastrous opposite effect on the heart, and general body of a person.

 

This article: link removed is very interesting...

 

 

James Lynch in his book link removed[/i]]The Broken Heart: The Medical Consequences of Loneliness says that suicide, cancer, tuberculosis, accidents, mental disorders, and especially heart disease are "all significantly influenced by human companionship."

 

Mother Teresa once said "There are so many sorrows in today's world! These sorrows are due to hunger, to dislodging, to all kinds of illnesses. I am convinced that the greatest of all sorrows is to feel alone, to feel unwanted, deprived of all affection. It consists in not having anyone, in having gotten to the point of forgetting what human contact is, what human love is, what it means to be wanted, to be loved, to have a family."

 

An article in the Minnesota Medical Association journal says:

 

- I totally agree with the view that our Western medical system doesn't take loneliness or it's effects very seriously, and no wonder people's depressions can become so bad before they seek help, since they cannot feel they'll be taken seriously - that loneliness is something to be ashamed of, and 'not real'.

[DragonGirl724]

animals sometimes die from lonliness or a broken heart, like if their owners abandoned them with someone else. and im sure the same can go for humans. but you cant let it happen, b/c thats just not right. live it up baby!!! life doesnt revolve around a S/O.

 

-DG724

[Tears May Fall]

All those citations from those sites are very accurate and true, and from just about every topic ive learned in school on my way to becoming a healthcare professional(pharmacist), ill say this much as i say to just about every patient ive seen thats questioned it:

Stress causes so much more harm than people will ever know...and it mainly has to do with an imbalance in hormones produced by one's neurological and homeostatis system. Let me try to put this in laymens terms, when the human body is endured to stress, caused by let's say in this scenario, loneliness, the CNS(central nervous system) has alot more work to do to maintain regular function(homeostatis), and it has to focus on other issues before it can work on just keeping your regular daily functions going. From cardiovascular(mainly bloodflow/pressure, and blood components, as well as heartrate and rhythm), gastrointestinal(ulcers, gastritis), neurological, pulmonary(related to cardio), skin, etc, are ALL effected by this element known as STRESS.

Its like trying to get to work or someplace on time, but you hit traffic. Thats what stress is, like traffic, an obstacle course for your brain, and then the chemical imbalances from the various hormones/neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine mainly) that are either elevated or decreased from the induced stress, cause the body to "misfire" some of these chemicals, causing slow but steady harm to various other regions of the body, either by lack of certain chemicals flowing around, or too much of them, causing various types of malfunction. Just remember, your blood is what transports nutrients all around your body, and when certain forms of stress can induce a change in absorbtion, distribution, replenishment/recirculation, metabolism and excretion of these various nutrients(even including oxygen) throughout the body, it will take a toll on you. This is why it is also very important to try to get medical help when one does have a circumstance of this nature or any which effects one's day to day mood.

This is all a very slow process that the CNS can endure for periods of time, but with extended periods, theres only so much the body can take, and it breaks down. This is a very difficult topic to try to sum up in just a matter of paragraps, but if you need any further advice, feel free to leave me a message anytime, its always my pleasure to help out the community. Im not a psychiatrist, but i can definitely help is allowing one to understand detailedly exactly whats going on inside the body on the second by second basis.

I definitely agree with Dragongirl on her reply, and its even been professionally studied, that human babies, if theyre just kept in a tube, nurished and nutrioned properly and allowed all the necessary exercise and development, HOWEVER cut from any type of human attention and support, they will die by as soon as 8 months, to a maximum of 2-3 years, and if not, these babies almost ALL turn out to have severe neurological and health conditions/diseases. But shes right on having to go out and live it up, life isnt all about a S/O, theres so much out there for the world to offer you, go try and grab it, and you'll see that one life isnt even enough to live it all up, and 24 hours in a day arent enough to enjoy evey last bit of everything you wanted to do, because there is just SOO much for life to offer, you have to make the most of every minute you are given. If this is difficult for you to understand or want to have ambition to do, then perhaps it would be best for you to seek our counseling, and i know thats not what you might want to hear, but believe me, its not so bad, and it sure beats alot of the complications you'll physically be dealing with in your body as you grow older, i dont know your age, but believe me, if you have stress of that sort, it will only get worse as you age.

The first step to recovery is admitting to the problem, then the rest will come alot easier. Im proud of you for atleast realizing there might be something wrong, and that you should attempt to seek out help. Please feel free to ask me any questions you would like further regarding this topic.