Sir,
This refers to the writeup ‘Loneliness has Remedies’ (DE, Nov4, 2018).There is no doubt that loneliness is a serious problem, especially with the elderly and the childless couples.With the crumbling of joint family system and rise of nuclear families coupled with fast materialistic life, this problem has assumed alarming proportions.Gone are the days when the children and grandchildren would take care of their elders, interact with them daily, seek their guidance and views regarding minor and major projects.Now in the modern times, there are many instances where children put their old parents in oldage homes where they die a painful death pining for their children and grandchildren.The fact that loneliness in people is growing at a rapid pace and that loneliness can lead to various physical and psychological problems such as cognitive decline, dementia,, sense of emptiness, worthlessness, stress, anxiety, anger and other health problems calls for focus by the government, society, NGOs etc to tackle the burgeoning loneliness in people.
Therefore, there is need for ensuring community support to the people suffering from loneliness and isolation. Community recreational centres need to be opened to involve such people in recreational activity.As the loneliness is prevalent more in elderly people, they ought to be respected and taken care of.Their children and relatives should remember that more than medicines, they need caring words and affectionate hugs.There is also need for reverting to joint family system to overcome this problem.We need to take care of our elders, seeking their advice and counsel in major domestic projects to give them the message that they are wanted and their advice is valuable.The writer has suggested some practical steps such as talking to strangers, eating together, inviting neighbours over tea and coffee etc to overcome loneliness which can go a long way in tackling this epidemic and it makes the writeup more useful and worth reading.
Ashok Sharma,
Udhampur
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