There was once a thread that was started on Quora that said I am so lonely. Can I die from it? The short answer is yes. What was once just a psychological issue, a possible “phase” that people could supposedly get out of, has quickly turned into a dire medical condition.
The last decade has seen closer interrogation by doctors and researchers over this health condition. The impacts of loneliness along with social isolation on one’s health and mortality has been studied in greater detail, and the results are that a person suffering from loneliness is more likely to die earlier than his or her peers.
Researchers have found that loneliness is as lethal to one’s health as is smoking 15 cigarettes per day. It is true that lonely people have a 50% higher chance of dying prematurely than those who enjoy healthy social relationships. Loneliness has also been known to reduce immunity that will put you at a higher risk of contracting a plethora of diseases. It will increase inflammation in the body which is a significant contributor to heart diseases and other chronic health issues.
Though we might think that the presence of social media has increased the possibility of developing connections, and it is true to some extent, but we have only been able to increase the number of our connections and not the quality. What we look for when filtering through our social circle is how they add quality to our lives. There are a lot of times when we can feel lonely even when we are surrounded by a lot of people, mostly because these are the people we are just not emotionally compatible with.
This is something that Tony Jeton Selimi has been advocating for so long and what inspired him to write his critically acclaimed book called #Loneliness: The Virus of Modern Age, where he talks extensively about this disease and how it is prevalent even during the time when social media and connections from all over the globe are rampant.
Selimi uses the lessons from his life struggles and 30 years of studying various life disciples to help his clients overcome addictions, depression, fears, low self-esteem and low-self-confidence. Born with crooked legs, Selimi never stopped dreaming of travelling the world, and today he has people from all across the globe contacting him to have a one to one consultation, appear on their TV/Radio show or hire him to inspire audiences by giving one of his remarkable speeches in their events.
A 20-year old homeless man who worked several odd jobs to fulfil his dream of graduating with an honour’s degree now is the founder of TJS Cognition Ltd, a coaching, mentoring, speaking, consulting, education and service institution dedicated to exploring, expanding, and elevating the frontiers of human awareness and potential.
His company strives to advance research of and perpetuate education into the physical and metaphysical arts, sciences, religions, and philosophies of the great world cultures for the further education and evolution of the individual as well as social humankind.
As the beloved co-creator of the Living My Illusion® series as well as author of A Path to Wisdom, #Loneliness and Fit for Purpose Leadership #3, he crafted the TJSeMethod: ALARM ™, a one of a kind modernized formula for health, wealth and success, and has been hailed as the new self-improvement tool, now containing 25 of the most powerful principles to maximising human potential known to mankind.
Globally he teaches others how to use the principles of his trademark TJSeMethod: ALARM ™ to help his clients solve their life dilemmas. Selimi is truly an inspiration to look up to as he set about to combat several of the mental health illnesses that attempt to cripple our lives.
One needs to remember that being a loner is not the same as being lonely. A loner is someone alone, and therefore he or she can feel lonely, but a lonely person may have a lot of friends around him, yet he or she would be battling the feeling of loneliness deep inside. If it persists, then you might want to look into going to a therapist who might host different interventions designed towards improving social skills, enhancing social support, increasing opportunities for social interactions, and changing dysfunctional thinking.
Let me leave you with one of my favourite loneliness quotes is:
“Advanced way of socialisation in the digital era mimics the loneliness that resides within us and projects into the world as “fake virtual happiness” that is covered by a factual lonely portrait.” By Tony Jeton Selimi