Growing up as young children, we learnt early to run away from the mentally ill. We are taught to avoid them as they could be irrational as they roam the streets. However, in our world today, there is a growing realisation of mental health and how it impacts our daily lives. As at the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many people have become more aware of how social interaction affects our mental health either positively or negatively. Studies have also been able to establish some correlation between social isolation, loneliness and mental disorders. Both situations have been said to lead to suicidal thoughts, depression and personality disorders or complications for people with already existing mental illness (Wang et al., 2017).
Social isolation refers to inadequate quality and quantity of social connection between humans at the different levels social interaction takes place (Zavaleta et al., 2017). These levels could include the community, interpersonal or the family levels. A person who is socially isolated lacks sufficient emotionally and physically fulfilling relationships. Carpenito-Moyet (2008) further defines social isolation as a state where a person has a desire for more social interaction but is unable to make the required connection. The longer someone stays socially isolated for, the higher the chances of it taking a toll on their mental health. Markers of social isolation includes having infrequent social ties, little to no social network and living in solitude.
A study by Horan et al., (2006) observing the social network of people with the onset of schizophrenia discovered that people living with severe mental disorders (SMD) having lower social interactions had higher negative health outcomes compared to those who had better social networks through family and community circles. Severe mental disorder is a wide range of conditions that affects an individual’s ability to think, understand and conduct themselves. Some mental illnesses allow the ill person to perform their daily functions however, with SMD comes many limitations. Some SMD that negatively influences one’s lifestyle could include psychosis, bipolar disorders and dementia. By aggravating negative emotions and invoking a behavioural response, social isolation is said to further spur these already vulnerable people into the onset of delusion, hallucinations and other health complications.
However, some scholars argue that solitude puts one’s mind in a state whereby your mind is free from the influence of other minds. It is believed that to activate one’s critical thinking abilities, one needs to spend time alone. So how does solitude worsen mental health? Existing studies have established that even though productive, social isolation not by choice but borne out of circumstantial conditions may have deleterious effects on an individual’s mental and physical health (Linz, 2013). One can conclude that solitude is only helpful for a healthy mind.
Interpersonal and mutually benefitting relationships are very vital in the lives of all people. Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs maps out a need for love and belonging as one of the top needs of humans. People with SMD are not exempt from desiring this form of connection. This is not to insist that people with SMD must interact with others in the society especially if it is at their peril. However, even in professional settings, people living with SMD are said to have better outcomes when they connect to their careers not just in a service user to service provider dimension but also through interpersonal connections (Ljungberg et al., 2015). Bearing in mind that sometimes for people living with SMD, loneliness could be more of a perception than a truth and also their difficulty in establishing friendships, interpersonal connections have still proven to be helpful in their treatment. When people living with SMD are viewed as individuals, heard and seen in a trustful professional-patient relationship, they are able to respond to treatment and function better in their regular lives (Gunnmo and Fatouros-Bergman, 2011).
Society’s segregation for the mentally ill is a major driver of social isolation. Unlike loneliness, social isolation is not a perception or subjective. Social engagements as simple as physical activities or even providing some form of employment or routine has been said to reduce symptoms and help coping for people living with SMD (Blomqvist et al., 2017). The facilitation of mental health literacy in the society needs to be encouraged more. This will help members of the society create a conducive and better enabling environment for people living with SMD and as a result, improve their lives.
References
Blomqvist, M., Sandgren, A., Carlsson, I. M. and Jormfeldt, H. (2017) ‘Enabling healthy living: Experiences of people with severe mental illness in psychiatric outpatient services’, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, https://doi-org.ezproxy.wlv.ac.uk/10.1111/inm.12313.
Carpenito-Moyet, L. (2008) Nursing diagnosis: Application to clinical practice (12th ed.), Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Gunnmo, P. and Fatouros-Bergman, H. (2011) ‘What do individuals with schizophrenia need to increase their well-being’, International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 6(5412) https://doi: 10.3402/qhw.v6i1.5412
Horan W., Subotnik K., Snyder K., and Nuechterlein K. (2006) ‘Do recent-onset schizophrenia patients experience a “social network crisis”?’ Psychiatry. 69(2):115–129. doi: 10.1521/psyc.2006.69.2.115
Ljungberg, A., Denhov, A. and Topor, A. (2015) ‘The Art of Helpful Relationships with Professionals: A Meta-ethnography of the Perspective of Persons with Severe Mental Illness’, The Psychiatric Quarterly, 86(4), 471–495. https://doi-org.ezproxy.wlv.ac.uk/10.1007/s11126-015-9347-5
Wang J., Lloyd-Evans, B., Giacco D., Forsyth R., Nebo C., Mann, F., and Johnson, S. (2017) ‘Social isolation in mental health: a conceptual and methodological review’, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(12), 1451–1461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1446-1
Zavaleta D., Samuel K., and Mills C. (2017) ‘Measures of social isolation’, Social Indicators Research, 131(1), 367-391. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.wlv.ac.uk/10.1007/s11205-016-1252-2
Bio:
Faith Babajamu is a public health professional who currently works in content creation for Fiftyfifty institute. She has previously worked with teams that have achieved health promotion through provision of better commodities, education and mental health facilities to people who are in dire need of them. She is passionate about health promotion, health system strengthening and community advocacy. She graduated with honors from the University of Ilorin, Kwara state Nigeria and has a master in public health degree from the University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.
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