Understanding Social Isolation

Kathy Black (00:09):

Just because some of the topics that we discuss tend to be a little bit on the serious side. We thought it would be fun just to get to know our guests on a personal level a little bit first. So are you ready Kathy?

Kathy Black (00:22):

I guess so.

Kathy Black (00:23):

Okay, here we go. Really easy questions. First one, cats or dogs.

Kathy Black (00:29):

Oh my goodness. I am a cat person and I’m going to be a cat lady. I don’t know how many I will eventually have, but a lot.

Kathy Black (00:38):

Very good. I love cats too. I’m kind of a both person. All right. Favorite color?

Kathy Black (00:44):

Ah, I’m going to have to say red.

Kathy Black (00:46):

Ooh. Power color. Very good. Beach or mountains?

Kathy Black (00:51):

Definitely mountains.

Kathy Black (00:53):

And your favorite quote?

Kathy Black (00:56):

Let’s just say that my favorite word is really onward and I think it’s a perfect word for today as well.

Kathy Black (01:05):

Absolutely. I think that’s perfect. That’s a really good word. All right, so let’s get on to our topic. Today, we will be discussing social isolation, a topic that I think everyone on the planet can relate to right now. It’s definitely something that has pushed many people outside of their comfort zones. I think it also is a really great opportunity to help people understand what many older adults face each and every day in their own social isolation. Let’s start with social isolation defined. What does that really mean, Kathy?

Kathy Black (01:46):

The thing I want to say right up front is older adults is a very heterogeneous population. We’re talking about millions and millions of people, some say 50s and older, 60s and older, 70s and older. It’s always seems to be about 10 years or more older than we are, but there’s a lot of diversity, so it’s very difficult to say that any one factor in aging is true for everybody. So for example, some people in their seventies and eighties and nineties are still working full time and certainly doing a lot of things so people vary. But to get back to the term social isolation, it really is an objective measure of how frequently we talk on the phone, get out of the house, go out and do things. Now we can also characterize it not just by the frequency, but also by the quality of that interaction. And we can say that somebody is socially isolated when they have limited and or no social contacts, no phone calls, no visitors, no outdoor activities, and about 10% of the population is considered to be socially isolated.

Kathy Black (02:55):

Although that number actually can vary. I think another term that is oftentimes confused and it’s more of a subjective, is the term loneliness. People can be socially isolated by choice. They just don’t want to connect with people. They’re more of a private person, so people vary and where they are and the circumstances for how they might find themselves, quote unquote, socially isolated. But loneliness is a subjective feeling of being alone and about 25 to 60% of the American population reports feeling lonely at different times. So I think that’s a very important piece there, that loneliness and social isolation really can happen to people across age spectrums and it really is not specific to just age.

Kathy Black (03:42):

That is such a great point. I was thinking that earlier today because across the board, everybody is experiencing it right now and I’m kind of one of those silver lining people. I always look for a silver lining in every scenario that I’m presented with. And as I was thinking about what might be a silver lining to this situation, it dawned on me that it’s a great opportunity for us to help people to gain a greater understanding of the concept of social isolation and how it affects people. Because when we’re in our day to day routines, we don’t necessarily think about that other person who really struggles with that. I’m constantly telling people, check on your neighbors, check on your neighbors. And I’m not sure that people understand why that’s important to me and why I encourage that.

Kathy Black (04:31):

You’re right, let’s look for those silver linings. And I love that you’re thinking that way. And, of course you and I, Liz are thinking that way long before the COVID-19 virus. And again, people think that it’s just a problem specific to the older adults. For example, younger people today are more active on Facebook and other aspects of social media, Instagram, et cetera. And it’s really not about the amount of followers that you have because people of all ages can be lonely and socially isolated. And by the way, it’s worldwide and the United Kingdom recently put in place a minister of loneliness to deal with this very issue. So on one hand we can have a lot more connections and yet we can still be socially isolated and lonely.

Kathy Black (05:17):

I’d like to talk a little bit about the factors that lead people to be socially isolated. And you know, as we mentioned, Liz, these were already in place before this pandemic and of course our concern now is that they’re being exacerbated. For example, we already knew that the older we are and if we live alone, we’re more likely to be isolated. For example, we know that more women live alone and at older ages, so women as a gender tend to be more socially isolated. I wanted to talk about the factors that predispose people to social isolation, age and gender we know, because women live longer, they tend to live alone, more likely to be widowed. And so those factors right there are immediately going to put people in a position of living alone and likely to be more isolated. When we look at people, again, this theme of diversity, when we look at ethnicity, ethnicity can be a factor.

Kathy Black (06:16):

Now, some ethnicities, culturally there’s multi-generational families, but in some cases ethnicity could be a factor because for example, somebody may not speak the language and be able to be as connected in the community. Geography matters, where we live. We may live in an environment that’s more amenable for us getting around meeting others, but for example, people in rural settings or people in high crime areas are likely to stay inside more. So those will be factors as well. Just a note about Florida there two out of three people from Florida have moved here from somewhere else. That causes us to have to create those new social relationships over and over again. Our health status is a factor and our ability to get out and around people with vision, hearing issues tend to be socially isolated. Mobility issues and other health conditions such as depression, dementia, you often hear of caregivers talking about the persons that they’re caring for,

Kathy Black (07:18):

definitely with dementia, who don’t go out as much because it’s harder to manage out in public. And of course we have a whole bunch of efforts that we’re trying to do to get our environments more conducive to treating people better across all ages and conditions. People’s knowledge and awareness; The older we are, we grew up at a time where technology wasn’t the norm the way it is today and so whereas different age groups have had to learn technology and some people are more comfortable with it than others. Technology is a source of interacting today and people who don’t have either digital access or a comfort level in using smart phones, smart TVs, you know, these various mediums to connect are going to have a harder time. The good news is that we can all learn those things, but sometimes our own not wanting to learn them can be a barrier.

Kathy Black (08:15):

Different life transitions put us at risk of isolation. It is not uncommon for people who become widowed to change their nature in ways in which they start interacting. People who give up their car keys, which is why a lot of people don’t want to give up driving because now they’re cooped up at home. People who stopped working that normal routine and social interactions goes away. So there are a variety of factors there. Another group that I just wanted to mention are LGBT. You know, LGBT seniors have maybe grew up at a time where they sort of had to live more in the closet all along and certainly may not be well received by coming out and being open today. And so that puts an extra strain on connecting with people as well. And you know, just some other characteristics. I mean the boomers, boomers are born between 46 and 64. The leading age boomers are into their seventies today and one out of three boomers is single. Many have smaller families. And so the connections, those natural, informal connections that we normally have are increasingly lost or change with age. And so we need to keep on creating new connections to stay connected.

Kathy Black (09:30):

Wow. That, that’s a very interesting fact that one of three boomers are single. That’s something I wasn’t aware of. It certainly makes you think about how they are interacting in the community and you’re right as we age and as things change, it is very easy to slip into that home body, state of mind and stay in your safe place where you don’t have to worry about all of those external factors. So then, what do we do to create a scenario for those who do wish to be more active? And I appreciate the point that you made about the fact that some choose to be less active socially and that’s okay if that’s where somebody is, they should be able to be there without being judged. What are some strategies that we could employ to help them to get more active again and get out more independently?

Kathy Black (10:25):

Well, I’m going to answer that Liz, but I’m going to answer it by starting off with just a little bit of definition about health. You know, the world health organization defined health in 1947 as a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. So when we think of our health where, Oh gee, I have arthritis, I have diabetes, but our health is our mental and social well-being as well. And it turns out that social isolation is not good for our health. It is considered a risk factor for mortality equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, a greater risk factor than even obesity.

Liz Craven (11:04):

Wow.

Kathy Black (11:05):

Yes. So there’s a shorter life expectancy increase in cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, increased risk of falls, increase of hospitalization. Even on the psychological level, there is an increased risk of cognitive impairment and depression and suicidal thoughts.

Kathy Black (11:23):

And on the social layer, when you think about it, people who are more isolated, who don’t connect more start to become more socially awkward in connecting and sort of become loners, if you will. And then it gets sort of harder for that civic discourse that we have in running into others, you know, at a grocery store, et cetera. And so there’s some real costs to our social, physical and mental well-being as well. But I do like how you talked about, so Kathy, we already know these issues associated, what are some of the things that we can do? I think a lot of them go back to what you already talked about and particularly during this sort of self-imposed time, which by the way, we would really prefer that be called physical distancing than social distancing because just because we can’t connect within six feet, we are social creatures, we are social animals by nature and we do need each other.

Kathy Black (12:24):

We are interdependent across the life course. And so how do we remain social? And we mentioned obviously technology is really providing that for us. It’s the next best thing to see each other and listen to each other. So for many of us it’s the old fashioned phone call and I still prefer talking over text myself. I’m a boomer, that’s why. But I think we all have preferences, but it is the next best thing. And I’ve noticed even the television, you know, the average retiree spends about seven hours a day watching television. And I noticed that even all the television shows the Today Show- we’re there for you. It’s almost making us feel like a family. And I think that that’s good. Those sort of visuals that still connect us. If you can do the technology, and if not, learn the technology, It’s not that hard and just jump in and let people help you and figure out how to do it.

Kathy Black (13:22):

Those are very good things, but thinking about those layers of health, how do we stay engaged? We can still write letters, we can still volunteer and contribute electronically or by phone. A lot of people are joining telephone circles to call each other or wellness checks. I really love that. And you’re seeing a lot of the senior centers, and area agencies on aging sort of hosting those. Sometimes it’s also being done at the local layer in your neighborhood. There’s somebody on the street who has now grabbed the names and phone numbers of people who are living alone or caregiving for others or maybe bed bound or home bound. Yeah, and sharing those so that we can all call and check in on each other and particularly for things that we need such as food and medications and other supplies, but also just to hear another human voice. One of my favorite new connections is community connections through AARP.

Kathy Black (14:20):

If you Google AARP community connections, you will see a few things and they just launched this just a few days ago. You will see how to start a group or join a group to see if there’s already one in your community, but you can also put your name down or give a name, a number to be on a telephone tree so that people will call regularly and check in, which I love. The other thing about the community connections website is you will also get access to quality information and really rapidly changing on COVID because it is changing and people do need to go to trusted sources to get this right, so I also like that on the website. Also on the website is mental health help for where you can text to get immediate help for people who are really struggling. The news sometimes is coming so fast and it’s so horrific that it’s very overwhelming for people and so I really like that angle of the community connection site so that people can get immediate mental health assistance as well.

Kathy Black (15:21):

Those are all such great resources and just so that our listeners are aware, I will make links of all of those things that you just mentioned available in the show notes, so be sure to check there. If you’re interested in learning more about the resources that were just mentioned

Kathy Black (15:39):

And I hope that people will go to them and use them. A lot of people are taking, those again, who are comfortable accessing the computer, are putting in orders for food and groceries and medications. There’s tools such as Instacart, Uber eats. There’s a variety of options there. There’s a neat application called nextdoor.com and, again, for people who are tech savvy or if you’re comfortable moving in that direction. I became aware of next door because a few years ago when we were doing our age friendly community and I wanted to know how many people in the community were using the next door app. I found out that we have over a thousand community neighborhood associations and I found out, and this is a few years ago, that over 200 were already signed up with next door. And what’s great about next door, just think of pre COVID, you could just go in and say, Hey, I lost my black cat. Has anybody seen her? Or Hey, I have a chair to sell. Does anybody want to buy it? I’m running out to the store. Does anybody need some milk? And now it’s becoming even more of a necessity. And it’s a great way for us to connect with each other immediately. So I really do like the next door app for those of you who are comfortable joining in.

Kathy Black (16:59):

I actually use that app as well in my neighborhood and it has been a great source, especially when the electricity goes out or during hurricane preparation or any of those events that tend to cause stress. Everybody’s right there caring for each other. And I love that.

Kathy Black (17:17):

And I think a lot of us have been pulled along to technology kicking and screaming. There are people who do have smartphones who choose not to use them or who choose not to, you know, sign into their computers. There will be a day where everybody will be online, but today we have people who choose not to engage in technology and so we still need to find ways to reach people in a variety of formats. But again, increasing technical literacy is probably a good idea so that we can stay current. And again, not all technology is bad, some of it’s quite useful. I mean after all next door, I mean how easy it is to just send out something to hundreds of people. Unfortunately it may have taken something like this to get us to realize that, but that may be one of the silver linings that comes out of all of this.

Liz Craven (18:07):

In the end, we will find that there are quite a few silver linings. I saw a meme on Facebook the other day and it said something to the effect of this was mother nature’s way of telling us all to sit down and take a breath. And we’ve all certainly had the opportunity to do that. And I’m not going to lie, It doesn’t hurt my feelings that my day is not scheduled to the nth degree. I’m kind of enjoying that extra time to just relax or go take a long walk and instead of driving to the post office, walking to the post office to pick up the mail because I can. Those kinds of things are the things that we certainly could take advantage of and really start to appreciate more. Maybe pulling ourselves back to center just a little bit through all of this chaos.

Kathy Black (18:58):

Liz, I couldn’t agree with you more. I think that we’re certainly in the midst, or in the beginnings, and/or slash in the midst and I’m sure our reflections will continue even long after this ends, which we hope is soon, but nobody really knows. But I think there will be a lot of soul searching, a lot of philosophizing and some spiritual thinking about how this has changed us, forever changed us, and finding increasing meaning in our lives is definitely one way for us to discover more about ourselves. So one of the things that we’re encouraging people to do is to take the time to pursue those things that have been on the shelf; that book you’ve been waiting to read, that language you’ve been waiting to learn and staying fit. You know, I think that there’s a lot of concern about people backsliding on some healthy habits. Certainly being cooped up at home is going to affect that. So it’s really important that we stay engaged and active so that we don’t let that happen. So that doesn’t add to our problems once we all come out of this,

Kathy Black (20:04):

you know, I think another possible silver lining that we could see is the opportunity for some more intergenerational activity. I’m seeing a lot of that already and I love it. I love seeing families out walking together. I love seeing grandparents getting on Facebook and doing virtual activities with their grandkids, but in the end, as we’re all finding a way to ease ourselves back into whatever the new normal is, none of us knows what that really looks like. But I hope that we’ll continue some of the additional interactions that have started to take place because people don’t have those really tight schedules.

Kathy Black (20:45):

Well, I’m really glad you that because intergenerational relations is actually something that’s very important to me. My grandmother lived with me for 10 years, my husband and I. And so I very much understand intergenerational. And I think we all do in the course of an individual family. There are six generations alive today. And although there’s been a lot of play in the media about older adults being afflicted, uh, it is true that they’re more likely to die and suffer serious complications. It has also caused many people to be more considerate and thoughtful and appreciate people at all ages. And you’re right, we’re seeing more and more people who are of all ages and generations seeing what we can do for each other. And so I’m looking for more of that moving ahead. And when we understand each other’s perspective, that’s what really is the reciprocity that’s needed to bond the generations together. And I think that’s what’s happening. People are really understanding and developing more compassion. And that’s the sort of thing that’s going to cement greater intergenerational bonds ahead.

Liz Craven (21:55):

What a wonderful conversation. I have so much hope that this time frame that we look back on, not too far into the future and say, I did find some silver linings and I’m going to make sure that I carry those silver linings I was experiencing through to the future. It might just change the way that we think about life and the way that we think about interacting with each other. Thank you so much for joining me today. I’m really excited about this conversation. I hope that it brings people a little bit of perspective about this whole time frame that we’re experiencing. It’s all, it’s new to everyone on the planet. It just blows my mind every single day that I think about this and what’s happening and definitely a, well, hopefully, a once in a lifetime experience for us all, but if we approach it in the right way, we can’t change the negativity that we see out there in the sense that this will have a devastating effect on a lot of people, but what we can do is take our own mindset, find the positivity, find the silver linings, and pass those on to other people in our interactions with them. That’s what I hope that we can provide people with

Kathy Black (23:28):

Liz. So beautifully said. Really. I totally agree. Thank you for joining us. And you know, you are such a wealth of information. I have a feeling that we’re going to have to make this a regular thing to have you come back and share more.

Kathy Black (23:44):

I’d be honored to participate anytime and share and, I really think it’s terrific that you’re offering this for people. So thank you for all you do.