Feeling lonely raises our bodies and politics
Medical research shows that social isolation is serious chronic pressure. You can say something similar about its impact on our political system
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Hana Arndt was very much recently. The twentieth German Jewish century Political philosopher They survived the Nazi Holocaust, and won as one of the greatest general intellectuals in the world at a time when a few women were appointed to university colleges. I stumbled on history and literature and its life to determine conditions Accordingly, open and liberal societies turn into authoritarian countries. Seven decades ago, I made notes that still provide strong visions today.
in The origins of inclusivenessArendtemplassed is one of the basic factors in the rise of tyranny, which has nothing to do with only a little relationship between politics: Feeling lonely. Although we usually think about feeling lonely that it does not meet our social needs, ARENDT has identified the word as a deeper thing. Feeling of loneliness occurs when there are no common objective facts and there is no possible collective action to solve common challenges. It is a situation where you cannot trust others. Unity, in Arndt’s novelIt provokes the connective tissues of society. It weakens the political body so that Demagogi can prey on and extensively. “What men are holistic domination”, is books“… it is the fact that the feeling of loneliness, as soon as the experience of the border line usually suffers from some marginal social conditions such as aging, has become a daily experience.”
Arendt was not used – as much as I know – the word “inflammation” to describe the effects of social isolation on a country or culture. But this metaphor, for me, reaches the essence of its warning.
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ignition he Body response To the feeling of threat – a preventive response, the contraction can extend to the cellular level. It is a response that can prevent recovery. Society or society that faces a deficiency of meaning that is similarly in a state of permanent threat; People are unable to listen to each other, to trust each other, Maintaining confidence in joint institutionsOr to collectively overcome the divisions.
This may seem familiar.
From 2003 to 2022, social media face to face among us men He falls 30 percent. For teenagers, it was amazing 45 percent. About 12 percent of Americans mention their existence No close friendsFour times an increase since 1990. While social media was supposed to inflate the human relationship, rise Comparison cultureSocial sorting to Echo rooms Instead, the rapid decline in personal social communication coincided with unprecedented Levels to Anxiety and depression and Lack of confidence.
So we should not see, in America, in America Democratic retreat Like Hana Arndt, she warned of collective polarization, deliberate misinformation, and the policy of fear, revenge and anger.
Feeling lonely Rape societies.
It only happens that the unit also provokes the body.
Two decades ago, researchers showed Louise Holkli and John Caseopo at the University of Chicago in A. Historical study This feeling of loneliness is chronic pressure that leads to the fungal response systems of the body. Social isolation maintains The axis of the pituitary-the pituitary gland (HPA) In a fixed state of excitement, pushing the continuous cortisol. This hormonal imbalance increases inflammation. This, in turn, can weaken the immune system, weaken the health of the heart and blood vessels and appreciation of weakness in mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. In short, the absence of social ties can be literally meaningful Return the body’s physiological mechanisms Towards more stress and disease.
Over the past two decades, only more studies have strengthened the link between Unity and inflammatory paths. George Slavic of the University of California, Los Angeles, confirms this The experience of social separation It can mimic physical threats to how our brains and immune system respond – which makes the release of inflammatory factors. Evolutionary, continuous isolation is disrupted by our primitive need for social integration – based on inflammation and a full set of consequences for the estuary.
It is easy to reduce the problem of unity. When the former American surgeon Vivic Mourthi to caution One of the dangers of social isolation and proposed solutions, which were not followed by meaningful government interventions. Likewise, when the UK government hiring Many likened the unit in 2018, and many likened to move to the Monty Python drawing instead of seeing it as a dangerous political intervention.
But the medical, social and even political costs of increasing social isolation means that we can no longer tolerate ignoring it.
Some solutions are clear. Medical creators are now treating social isolation through practices such as “Social description-Where health professionals link patients who are alone with the services of non-medical society, volunteer programs, exercise groups, and art activities to improve their well-being. Instead of writing medical prescriptions for grains, doctors can prescribe a free pass to the museum A social description directed towards nature In the United Kingdom, I found that the programs greatly helped the participants reduce anxiety and improve happiness.
Other more systemic solutions. When the Buttigieg House nominated for the presidency in 2020, he set a agenda for “Belonging and recovery– Emphasizing new financing and policies on mental health and addiction as well as the national service for rebuilding community institutions and enhancing environmental restoration. Leaders must propose to expand the “affiliation infrastructure” – transformation, green spaces, cultural places, and mental health centers – at the same time National service programs that depend on the purpose Such as Americanors and investment in local press through public grants or tax incentives to restore reliable information and restore important foundations for societal life.
This should be an issue of the two parties. Conservatives and liberals alike have an opening to address the crisis by taking advantage of the groups of faith and old warriors – for example, granting tax incentives or small federal matches that can help churches, temples, libraries and old warriors in building guidance initiatives, support addiction recovery, garden stimulation efforts, libraries and civilian places. There is also growing Both parties to get to know The role of social media in the crisis. In addressing the Big Tech’s effect on young people, leaders around the ideological spectrum should push towards full algorithm transparency, restrictions on exploiter design features, and strong digital well -being protections for children.
Like inflammation in the body, social isolation weakens the civil “immune system”, supports polarization and makes us more vulnerable to authoritarian motives. But Hana Arndt confirmed that the situation Reversal. By investing in the foundations of joint affiliation, we can restore our adaptation to adapt to the challenges we face – from forest fires to epidemics to wrong information. It’s time to get serious about our recovery.
This is an article on opinion and analysis, and the opinions expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily that American scientific.
