04/04/2024
Lonliness Project Logo
The Next 21st Century Epidemic:
Loneliness
The Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has said that ‘Loneliness has a mortality effect on a par with daily smoking and has an even greater mortality effect than that associated with obesity.
Loneliness Kills.
We have seen it in our valley, and we can see it right across the country.
Ever since the pandemic, loneliness has become a driver of both su***de and mental health issues.
Erich Fromm in his book ‘The Art of Loving’ says that the greatest driver of mental health problems is loneliness.
In a recent Pitkin county community health survey of 587 respondents ten percent of respondents said they had considered su***de in the past year and 11% said a loved one had considered the idea, while 2% had actually attempted su***de and 11% said they’d lost a loved one to su***de in the past year. The vast majority said that they felt excluded.
We know there is a high su***de rate in the valley. Nearly 25% of us have some contact with mental illness. Just over 4% have major depression. Addiction and recovery are prevalent and there is a drug problem in our schools.
We believe much of this is about loneliness.
And many of us have had experience of this firsthand.
Those of us who have come here from afar find it difficult to make friends. And, being a resort area, there is a seasonal nature to our social connection. When the lifts stop, so do the friendships. This was exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic, and by the influx of new money forcing up rents and making life in general less affordable.
We all know loneliness, and yet it is very difficult to do anything about it. People who are lonely often crave human contact. But their state of mind makes it difficult to form connections with others.
All of which is why a group of us have decided to come together and form ‘The Loneliness Project’.
Our mission is to create understanding around loneliness and to come up with practical solutions to deal with the issues involved.
And because no one wants to be thought of as ‘lonely’ we are also starting a group called ‘Together in Action’ to implement ideas that might help.
Together in Action Logo
Partners
At the moment we are partnering with:
The Aspen Chapel
Aspen Community Church
The Good Neighbor Project
Roaring Fork Leadership Academy.
Aspen Family Connections
Mind Springs Heath
The Hope Center
The Senior Center
HeadQuarters
