Treating loneliness in the aftermath of a pandemic: Threat or opportunity?

Rhea MacArthur, K.

Well before distancing and quarantine mandates, individualistic cultural values and stratified structural conditions had led to a public health epidemic of loneliness. Given unprecedented rates of unhappiness, greater loneliness, and lower relationship satisfaction since the coronavirus outbreak, society cannot afford to further restrict social interaction from preexisting levels. Since loneliness is associated with a vast array of adverse physical and mental health effects, standardizing the diagnosis and treatment of loneliness in clinical settings could provide the impetus for the cultural shift that is necessary to address loneliness, as it could institutionalize relationships as a type of health outcome in which the appropriate treatment is social. The pandemic and continued distancing guidelines pose both a threat that may exacerbate the loneliness public health epidemic - as well as an opportunity to reassess our cultural values and structural arrangements that shape social relationships and, in turn, affect individual and collective well-being. © 2021 selection and editorial matter, J. Michael Ryan;individual chapters, the contributors.