One Health

Breaking the Silence of Holiday Loneliness: Let's Support Each Other

The holiday season is often painted as a time of joy, connection, and celebration. However, for many, it can also be a season marked by loneliness, isolation, or unmet expectations. Whether due to distance from loved ones, personal loss, or challenging circumstances, holiday loneliness is a real issue that affects countless individuals.

At the One Health Forum, we believe that well-being-physical, emotional, and social-is interconnected. Holiday loneliness doesn't just affect mental health; it impacts overall health, from immune function to quality of life. That's why we're calling on YOU to join the conversation.

Here's How You Can Make a Difference:

1. Follow the Link
   Discover valuable insights and tips about combating loneliness during the holidays. Learn ways to nurture your own well-being and help others who may be struggling.

2. Share Your Knowledge
   If you know of community resources, hotlines, support groups, or even simple strategies that have helped you or someone you know, share them with others in this forum. Your experiences could be the lifeline someone needs.

3. Spread the Word
   The more we talk about holiday loneliness, the less stigmatized it becomes. Encourage you friends, family, and colleagues to join this forum and contribute or take advantage of the resources we're compiling and share these resources with others.

Together, we can make this holiday season a little brighter for those who might otherwise feel alone. Let's turn awareness into action and foster a community where no one feels left out.

Do you have resources, stories, or strategies to share? Drop them in the comments or reply to this post. Let's create a ripple of compassion this holiday season. 🌟

Pets Make A Difference In Handling The Holidays

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T' Fisher, Director of Operations
Program for Pet Health Equity
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Did you know that the mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day? Many of our seniors face social isolation and loneliness every day. The impact that pets have on families can help combat these feelings. 

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Candice Hinkle
Assistant Director
Program for Pet Health Equity
Knoxville, TN

Original Message:
Sent: 11-25-2024 06:04 AM
From: T' Fisher
Subject: Breaking the Silence of Holiday Loneliness

Breaking the Silence of Holiday Loneliness: Let's Support Each Other

The holiday season is often painted as a time of joy, connection, and celebration. However, for many, it can also be a season marked by loneliness, isolation, or unmet expectations. Whether due to distance from loved ones, personal loss, or challenging circumstances, holiday loneliness is a real issue that affects countless individuals.

At the One Health Forum, we believe that well-being-physical, emotional, and social-is interconnected. Holiday loneliness doesn't just affect mental health; it impacts overall health, from immune function to quality of life. That's why we're calling on YOU to join the conversation.

Here's How You Can Make a Difference:

1. Follow the Link
   Discover valuable insights and tips about combating loneliness during the holidays. Learn ways to nurture your own well-being and help others who may be struggling.

2. Share Your Knowledge
   If you know of community resources, hotlines, support groups, or even simple strategies that have helped you or someone you know, share them with others in this forum. Your experiences could be the lifeline someone needs.

3. Spread the Word
   The more we talk about holiday loneliness, the less stigmatized it becomes. Encourage you friends, family, and colleagues to join this forum and contribute or take advantage of the resources we're compiling and share these resources with others.

Together, we can make this holiday season a little brighter for those who might otherwise feel alone. Let's turn awareness into action and foster a community where no one feels left out.

Do you have resources, stories, or strategies to share? Drop them in the comments or reply to this post. Let's create a ripple of compassion this holiday season. 🌟

Pets Make A Difference In Handling The Holidays

------------------------------
T' Fisher, Director of Operations
Program for Pet Health Equity
------------------------------

Breaking the Silence of Holiday Loneliness: Let's Support Each Other

The holiday season is often painted as a time of joy, connection, and celebration. However, for many, it can also be a season marked by loneliness, isolation, or unmet expectations. Whether due to distance from loved ones, personal loss, or challenging circumstances, holiday loneliness is a real issue that affects countless individuals.

At the One Health Forum, we believe that well-being-physical, emotional, and social-is interconnected. Holiday loneliness doesn't just affect mental health; it impacts overall health, from immune function to quality of life. That's why we're calling on YOU to join the conversation.

Here's How You Can Make a Difference:

1. Follow the Link
   Discover valuable insights and tips about combating loneliness during the holidays. Learn ways to nurture your own well-being and help others who may be struggling.

2. Share Your Knowledge
   If you know of community resources, hotlines, support groups, or even simple strategies that have helped you or someone you know, share them with others in this forum. Your experiences could be the lifeline someone needs.

3. Spread the Word
   The more we talk about holiday loneliness, the less stigmatized it becomes. Encourage you friends, family, and colleagues to join this forum and contribute or take advantage of the resources we're compiling and share these resources with others.

Together, we can make this holiday season a little brighter for those who might otherwise feel alone. Let's turn awareness into action and foster a community where no one feels left out.

Do you have resources, stories, or strategies to share? Drop them in the comments or reply to this post. Let's create a ripple of compassion this holiday season. 🌟

Pets Make A Difference In Handling The Holidays

Thank you, T, for taking the time to shed light on this topic. The work of Simone Heng, author of "Let's Talk About Loneliness: The Search for Connection in a Lonely World," was very instrumental in my understanding of the loneliness epidemic and how we can combat it. I especially appreciate her insights on the five types of connection that we need in order to thrive socially:

• Self Connection - Having awareness of one's own experience, engaging in creative endeavors, and connecting with oneself through activities like meditation and nature walking. Having self connection prevents you from waking up on the wrong side of the bed (due to reactivity and stress) then snapping at friends, family, or others because of it.
• Intimate Connection - People you can be at your most vulnerable with, and they will love you regardless. Most people find this quality in the people they cohabitate with. Those who are single and live alone find these in friends by actively fostering and investing in those relationships.
• Relational Connection - People who are like kin to you, consisting of extended family and friends that you can rely on to be there when you are in a bind. Though you may not be as vulnerable with them as you are with intimate connections.
• Collective Connection - People who share a commonality with you, but are not to the point of being close friends. People find these connections in places like hobby and interest groups. This commonality offers safely and protection. Many people that we see leaving their families to join extremists groups are doing so because they are in search of collective connection.
• Micro Connections - People you bump into on the street, your barista at the coffee shop, etc.. These connections were greatly lacking during the pandemic, and are far more important than we realize. These interactions promote dopamine and oxytocin in the body, the feel-good hormones that help to fight off the stress of loneliness.

How do these kinds of connections manifest in your life? How do animals assist us with creating and maintaining these connections?

Breaking the Silence of Holiday Loneliness: Let's Support Each Other

The holiday season is often painted as a time of joy, connection, and celebration. However, for many, it can also be a season marked by loneliness, isolation, or unmet expectations. Whether due to distance from loved ones, personal loss, or challenging circumstances, holiday loneliness is a real issue that affects countless individuals.

At the One Health Forum, we believe that well-being-physical, emotional, and social-is interconnected. Holiday loneliness doesn't just affect mental health; it impacts overall health, from immune function to quality of life. That's why we're calling on YOU to join the conversation.

Here's How You Can Make a Difference:

1. Follow the Link
   Discover valuable insights and tips about combating loneliness during the holidays. Learn ways to nurture your own well-being and help others who may be struggling.

2. Share Your Knowledge
   If you know of community resources, hotlines, support groups, or even simple strategies that have helped you or someone you know, share them with others in this forum. Your experiences could be the lifeline someone needs.

3. Spread the Word
   The more we talk about holiday loneliness, the less stigmatized it becomes. Encourage you friends, family, and colleagues to join this forum and contribute or take advantage of the resources we're compiling and share these resources with others.

Together, we can make this holiday season a little brighter for those who might otherwise feel alone. Let's turn awareness into action and foster a community where no one feels left out.

Do you have resources, stories, or strategies to share? Drop them in the comments or reply to this post. Let's create a ripple of compassion this holiday season. 🌟

Pets Make A Difference In Handling The Holidays