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COVID lockdowns are difficult for so many people for so many reasons. But one group finding it particularly tough are older people who live on their own.
Even before COVID, loneliness was a daily experience for many older Australians. But lockdowns mean many of their usual coping strategies — volunteering, community activities and clubs — are off-limits.
During two lockdowns in 2020, a team of Monash University researchers explored the experience of loneliness with 35 Victorians aged 65 and above who were living alone.
They used a combination of interviews, surveys and diary-keeping. The personal responses are, at times, heartbreaking. As one participant, June, reported: “Most days I sit and brood, or wish I wasn’t here.”
As the authors write, “older people already put a lot of effort into managing their loneliness. But they could do with more help from the rest of us”.
Picking up the phone for a meaningful chat or planning another interaction don’t just improve the quality of older people’s lives, they could be life-saving actions, as well.
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Judith Ireland
Deputy Editor, Politics + Society
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www.shutterstock.com
Barbara Barbosa Neves, Monash University; Alexandra Sanders, Monash University; David Colón Cabrera, Monash University; Narelle Warren, Monash University
During lockdowns, researchers have explored loneliness with Australians over 65. Picking up the phone for a meaningful chat is more important than you might think.
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Dougal Sutherland, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Lockdowns can exacerbate existing mental illness, but people without a history of mental illness can also find themselves feeling low, unmotivated and lacking a sense of purpose.
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Education
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