Expats - Coping with Loneliness

The topic of loneliness has come up a lot lately.

Here is the video

Last week, a woman here in Chiang Mai was talking about her husband.
He’s a retired American expat.
The woman works full-time as a schoolteacher.

She said her husband is 63, spends most of his time alone at home, has no social life, and does not exercise.
He says he’s bored.
She also said, no surprise, he suffers from back pain.

I think he’s lonely.
Sounding annoyed, the wife said he pressures her about being home when she’s busy at work.

A couple of years ago, I wrote about my own dark episode of Loneliness

When men are lonely, I think they’re afraid to admit it.
They usually call it boredom or give it some other name.
They think talking about loneliness shows weakness, or it's unmanly.

This week, a friend in California sent me an article.
It’s titled, “A loneliness epidemic is spreading worldwide.”
It’s about the South Korean government’s fight to confront loneliness and isolation there.
Thank you for the article, Anne-Marie.

It said men in their 50s and 60s are especially at risk of dying alone.
They define “lonely death” as anyone who lives in social isolation and dies from suicide or illness.

It says loneliness happens when:
- Relationships are not fulfilling
- When people feel they are not worthy
- Or when there's a lack of purpose

Loneliness and isolation are a global problem.
Japan, the UK, and the US have all addressed the loneliness problem.
I have links in the description.

In my loneliness blog, I talk about why men don’t talk about loneliness.
I dive into symptoms, reasons, and remedies for loneliness.
The UCLA Loneliness Survey is in that blog. It has 20 questions about loneliness. It’s an eye opener.

The journey of aging can be a lonely one, especially when there is isolation.
We need to get outside, talk to people, move, be busy with something meaningful.
And simply talking about loneliness with people we trust can make us feel better.

I encourage you to have a look at the links below. They are very useful.

Thank you,
Peter 

Loneliness Links:
Here is my YouTube video
Here is my Loneliness blog

Stanford University: SPARQ Tools (UCLA Loneliness Scale)
Take the UCLA Loneliness Scale online Take the survey here

Article: A loneliness epidemic is spreading worldwide. Seoul is spending $327 million to stop it (2024): here
Article: CDC – Health effects of social isolation and loneliness (2024): here
Article: US Surgeon general lays out framework to tackle loneliness (2023): here
Article: UK tackles social isolation with minister for loneliness (2018): here

The De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale
This tool measures the feelings of missing an intimate relationship (emotional loneliness) and missing a wider social network (social loneliness).
To learn about Jenny De Jong Gierveld, see this link here
See the survey: The De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale
See the Brief Guide to Measuring Loneliness: here