Community Update (10/01/2023)

Wellness

COVID Annual Vaccination

Getting vaccinated or boosted is an important way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. But if it’s been a while since you got the shot, your protection may need a boost. Updated COVID-19 vaccines are available now and protect against the Omicron variant. Other vaccines, including this year’s flu vaccine, are also available. Staying up to date with your COVID vaccine can reduce the risk that you’ll:

• Get seriously ill, need hospital care, or die from COVID-19
• Develop long COVID-19
• Spread the disease to others, putting their health and lives at risk.

Learn more about COVID-19 and the updated vaccines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Free Flu Shots

Arlington is offering free flu shots at the Arlington Mill Community Center on Tuesday, October 10 from 2 pm – 7pm. You can learn more about the Flu from Arlington County’s Public Health Division. 

Fighting Loneliness: The Surgeon General’s Report      

Recently there has been a lot of interest and research in “loneliness,” being disconnected from others (The New York Times, September 7, 2023). We often find this escalates as we get older; we no longer have work/colleague relationships, our families grow up and move away, old friends are no longer available to us, some die. Without the activities of family, work, perhaps activities such as sports, and clubs, we may find ourselves spending more and more time alone. Now, while “solitude” from a busy life can be bliss, “loneliness” is not a choice but rather a result of losing/having no ongoing connections. But while we often think that older people are most lonely, indeed polls find that young adults are twice as likely as seniors to report loneliness.

Nicholas Kristof (NYTimes) points out humanity’s paradox, that as we have evolved and gained resources, “we stop sleeping 8 to a hut and build a big house with high walls, each with their own room, but then with mortgages we work so hard that we never manage to have meals together.” And social media was initially thought to bind us together, but experts now think this has made us more lonely. On social media, it seems everyone (else) is having fun and a great life. One may think ‘why don’t I have meals like all those posted, by people wearing pricey clothes and driving great cars?’

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general of the United States, published an 81 page report this spring, entitled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.” He states that loneliness is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and more lethal than consuming six alcoholic drinks a day. Dr. Murthy compares loneliness to tobacco, obesity and addiction, and warns that if we don’t take steps to address it now, “we will further retreat to our corners—angry, sick and alone.”

While this sounds bleak, the good news is that it is treatable! There are many things we can do to conquer this “epidemic”, and we are not alone in our efforts! Other countries have been working on this issue as well. Britain in 2018 established the post of minister for loneliness. Britain works with public/private partnerships to establish countless activities meant to knit people together, and since 2018 has invested over $100 million to this effort. Japan has also appointed a minister for loneliness, and Sweden’s minister for social affairs has worked aggressively on the issue of loneliness.

We have all seen how the Covid-19 pandemic has escalated isolation and loneliness, for all age levels, and reports abound about how difficult it has been to try to reverse this problem. This has been a wake-up call to all of us to address the loneliness problem, and there is a plethora of published “how-to” reports. Let’s consider some of these.

Physical infrastructure can encourage bonding; park benches thoughtfully grouped, social coffee houses where patrons are encouraged to talk to each other, and libraries.  Social infrastructure such as “NextDoor” online sites where people exchange ideas and items within their own zip code boundaries, and of course social engagement opportunities offered by organizations such as ANV that weave together volunteers and members with similar interests.

So here is where I encourage all you readers, members and volunteers of ANV, to please review (again) all the possible social contacts that we have at our disposal, from friendly visitor to daily check-ins, walking buddies, interest groups (happy hour, bocce, board games, books, lunches out), and holiday parties. And remember, if you have an interest, hobby or passion that we have not addressed, please suggest it and we can help you get it started. Help us all to tackle the “epidemic of loneliness” and triumph!