It's like smoking 1 pack of cigarettes per day...

There are a lot of people that I am seeing that, for all of our social media access, are losing access community. Digital community is nice for sure, but physical community, there’s just something about it.

Studies show that community:

• - Provides emotional support and reduces feelings of isolation, which can alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.

• - Encourages healthy behaviors and lifestyle choices through shared activities and mutual encouragement.

• - Enhances a sense of belonging and purpose, contributing to overall life satisfaction and mental well-being.

• - Offers practical support during times of need, such as help with daily tasks or access to resources, reducing stress and improving resilience.

• - Facilitates social interactions and physical activities, which can improve cardiovascular health and boost the immune system.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, has talked about how being alone or feeling lonely can be very bad for your health. In 2023, he shared that not having friends or people around you is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes every day. Being lonely can make you sick, with problems like heart disease, feeling very sad, and even dying earlier.

Dr. Murthy’s report says we need to work together to make sure everyone has friends and feels connected, so people can stay healthy and live longer.

I saw a Twitter post today….

Here is the text:

Individualism is rubbish. The individual is an entirely powerless unit; it could not give birth to itself, cannot raise itself, educate itself, or change the world itself. It is entirely a product of the people and environment around it. To emphasize the individual is an error.

Its a hard pill to swallow for westerners brought up in an individualistic mindset, but the reality is that you have never really done anything by yourself. Your actions and very nature are defined by your relations with outside people, the land, and material things.

@ungnyeodongji.

Now, I don't know what else that tweeter believes or espouses. But that post does re-emphasize something I've been saying, over and over again, for years. There is a great wealth in embracing community and communal aspects in your life. I don't mean communism, but “commonism”. Much of what we in America call “rugged individualism”, for most of us, is either a mere falsehood or outright lie. Even those who are titans of industry, need the power of the state to enforce their ownership and domination in said industry. If the type of government changes, you might not be able to have that same level of domination, if any at all.

Even moreso, as the Scriptures teach us, we can't take any of this stuff with us. I look at earth like a cosmic hotel. When you sleep in a hotel, you check in, you use the stuff, but the stuff isn’t yours. Except for a few soaps, drinks, maaaybe a towel or bathrobe..lol, you leave that stuff in a hotel. We are here, kind of merely borrowing our stuff, or at least for now (…the meek shall inherit the earth).

The rich man in Jesus parable when he died, did not cry out asking to get the things he possessed back (actually things possessed him, but I digress…). But rather, his concern turned to his community. It says that he “implores Abraham to send Lazarus from his bosom to warn the rich man's family from sharing his fate. Abraham replies, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

All of a sudden, he has concern for his community. I assume his community was engaged in same evil practices that he was.

We need not only community, but healthy community.

When we read the Scriptures, on top of the theology and prophecy of a Messiah, we are also reading the culture of an eastern, Afro-asiatic people, over thousands of years. Emphasized in these texts, is by and large, community and communal thinking. Relational, harmonic, collective thinking.

So I said all that to say, we need each other. Not more stuff. We need people. We need community. We need love from others. As much as we might love ourselves, and we should, it's almost never enough. The Scriptures that say “it is not good for man to be alone” is not merely about marriage, but also about community. One of the first things I refer people to, who are grieving who reach out to me, is to a support group. Few, if any, ever go and attend a local group. I also often It’s sad to see, so many people drowning in isolation, loneliness, carrying life’s burdens all alone. If you don’t have access to family for whatever reason, try to get access to a community in a local church.

There's an old African proverb that says:

“if you go alone, you can go fast, but if you want to go far, go with others”.

Research

Here are a few research papers that explore the impact of social isolation on health, often comparing it to the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes:

1. [Continuing education the risks of social isolation](https://www.apa.org/education/ce/social-isolation.pdf)

- Authors: Novotney, A.

- Published: 2019 in Monitor on Psychology

- Summary: This paper discusses how lack of social connection heightens health risks as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, highlighting the severe consequences of loneliness and social isolation on physical and mental health.

2. [Social isolation, loneliness, and health behaviors at older ages: longitudinal cohort study](https://academic.oup.com/abm/article-abstract/52/7/582/4825275)

- Authors: Kobayashi, L.C., & Steptoe, A.

- Published: 2018 in Annals of Behavioral Medicine

- Summary: This study investigates the effects of social isolation on health behaviors, noting that these effects may be comparable to the risks associated with smoking.

3. [Loneliness, social isolation, and cardiovascular health](https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ars.2017.7312)

- Authors: Xia, N., & Li, H.

- Published: 2018 in Antioxidants & Redox Signaling

- Summary: The paper reports that the odds of mortality due to social isolation and loneliness are similar to light smoking (15 cigarettes/day) and alcohol consumption, underlining the serious health implications of social disconnection.

4. [Social isolation, loneliness and health among older adults](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0898264312460275)

- Authors: Coyle, C.E., & Dugan, E.

- Published: 2012 in Journal of Aging and Health

- Summary: This research highlights the significant health risks associated with social isolation and loneliness among older adults, comparing them to smoking-related risks.

5. [Social isolation and mortality in US black and white men and women](https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-abstract/188/1/102/5133254)

- Authors: Alcaraz, K.I., Eddens, K.S., Blase, J.L.

- Published: 2019 in American Journal of Epidemiology

- Summary: The study examines the relationship between social isolation and mortality, finding it to be a predictor of mortality risk similar to smoking, particularly among men.

These papers provide strong evidence supporting the Surgeon General's statement regarding the severe health risks posed by social isolation.