Feeling lonely around a lot of people isnt a contradiction in terms. Of has been living in hamburg for 6 months is a biologist who moved here for work now all he needs is a new circle of friends. To come and i come from a small town with 20000 residents a big city has lots of people but you can feel lost. Where you see other people since you dont know them you still feel lonely. Maybe even lonelier because there are so many people. Fascinated ive never been the kind of guy to go into a bar and chat to people. Maybe as a student in a student pub but otherwise ive never done that its just not my thing its. His family lives far away in southern germany christiane lived in 100 before taking the job and home work leaving his University Friends behind. Theyve been li admitting youre lonely is still a social taboo yet one in every 10 people are thought to be affected by it with grave consequences. Studies show that chronic loneliness can make people ill physically as well as mentally. Yet doctors and scientists are only beginning to understand why that is. Is loneliness a personal problem or a serious social issue. Like christiane many people feel lonely and isolated after a move. Germanys federal Statistical Office says each year 6 percent of the population moves home. Christiane works on his own out in the field with no colleagues for companionship. My funking it at 1st i spent many nights sitting at home on the sofa but because i didnt know where to go to meet people just think of and couldnt summon the energy to find out how to finish the noida. Christiane adi says apartment is located in southern humble work in the enix of a Single Family home. Originally he planned to move in with his long term girlfriend but then they broke up. I think im someone who doesnt much like being alone but im trying to enjoy the single life and learning to deal with it. Even though its quite an adjustment and not so easy in this office. I just feel so lonely and socially isolated as i live off the beaten path. Sam a bit depressed because i just miss people human contact conduct. But how can you find new friends its not easy to meet other singles in this neighborhood which is mainly home to families. But Single Person households are increasingly common in europe in germany 41 percent of people live alone. In sweden its a huge 51 percent. While in portugal in slovakia its just 22 percent. Decided to take action after finding out about a friendship app called 25 friends registered users can meet up at gatherings or activities with a limited number of participants christiane quickly created a profile providing his name date of birth and a photo now he was ready to meet other users the bigger the city the more invitations there are to join in Group Activities they didnt use days on line dating is commonplace so i thought why not i mean its worth a try i think probably be perfect but im on the go a lot so i can get to know people in the city on the way of all kinds and. At the whole university in the western german city of. Researchers investigate the effects of loneliness on the human psyche. Mike alumina as a psychologist and her research she differentiates between being alone social isolation and loneliness. She says i love how its important to realize that loneliness isnt the same as being alone we understand loneliness to be the subjective feeling that the social contacts or relationships you have arent enough that you have fewer than youd like all maybe the relationships arent as good as youd like people suffer from that it hurts as much as physical pain. Some people contacts others feel well connected with just 2 friends. But being a lonely for a long time changes a person and possibly others to skip studion the lead in their own studies which suggests that loneliness is contagious one of the effects of loneliness is that you withdraw from others all simply become a somewhat more unpleasant person. The size that means relationships suffer when a person is lonely and in the long run your partner can start to feel lonely too i know some of. The causes of loneliness are as diverse as the people themselves however there identifiable risk factors primarily Health Problems or major life changes like a separation a move or unemployment or Mental Health issues like depression. But what about being poor. Sociologist sebastian link is the coauthor of a study which examines how poverty influences social relationships. Then the fun are moved when we talk about poverty we need to be conscious that poverty is a phenomenon thats accompanied by social withdrawal and a sense of shame and charm good for me and im here and of course that also makes the poor less miserable. I didnt see it. In germany anyone who earns less than 60 percent of the average net income so less than 1100. 00 euros per month is said to be poor. Links study shows that poverty makes it hard to build and maintain social relationships poor people dont fully participate in society. Today is a must and link is visiting a neighborhood project in berlins courts back district. He greets the organizers. In the back and. Social workers Carla Miranda and tim zion organize neighborhood meetings along with free cooking courses art classes and yoga sessions. They lend a sympathetic ear to the locals problems they dont like a chip on the forget if i know i dont have much money where can i meet new people if i cant go to restaurants with the cinema thats hard to see if this here is very low threshold that i just come in and theres something for me there are people who greet me and want me to stay. And most of whats on offer here is free. Cost and also. The boston link study shows that after 2 years of living in poverty people are less likely to meet with friends and its one meaning that almost all the longer people live in poverty the more the social fabric changes. For instance we can see that when people have been poor for a longer period of time there are fewer contacts who are rich in resources in their close social network. And thats that. Cooking with friends is a free weekly event today over 30 local residents are taking part. In. Student and single mom jennifer hope no feels shes in good company here. I think and again its really a question of money i dont get any student grants or any other Financial Aid from the state i have to earn the money myself and with 2 children its not that easy to meet people to date or anything like that. And here i can come into contact with all kinds of people and bring much of the long haul thats a huge help support and then take classes that they can possible. Creating meeting places and letting everyone participate fully in society are important for combating social isolation and loneliness. The swiss town of talk isnt one of the worlds richest countries but even prosperity cant always keep loneliness at bay. My own woman tyler is 77 years old and lives alone. As im an esteemed that you are sad and it makes you tired. Thing you think what do i do now. And withdraw a little bit of any trick cutter she says that its just awful to feel so lonely and so i had some interest. My last partner died 2 years ago they lived together for 21 years and she nursed him right to the end. After his death my own health began to decline as more time for a fight but you just have to go on. And there are days that go really well where youre happy. So you cant understand when suddenly the sadness hits you. But when youre so alone and theres no one around to talk to and its not easy but if. Dennis and i sign for heart. These sometimes you dont want to go out anymore youre just blocked somehow they have their country. And somehow to my loneliness in old age is particularly challenging because especially among the very elderly loneliness has very specific causes that are almost impossible to combat for example Impaired Health that simply age related or the loss of a close relative. Those cant be easily replaced you can just tell someone and find a new spouse and already well again. My used to be well connected in her neighborhood she also met her former partner here. But the older people went away and younger ones came for 4 people used to have time for a chat but that happens less these days as i know theyre. The ones provincial town of talk is now a booming Business Location that attracts expats from all around the world. Was on a fast bent who was born into spells out the consequences i think you get out of here and soon its evident how many single households we have how many expats who are here for a few months or years and then disappear. People have less and less contact with one another. The family unit is in decline and fall off if we keep Building Family homes which are then occupied by singles. Its problematic when we see neighborhoods going to pieces and the resulting lack of solidarity. Those on a fast bend is cofounder of the Kiss Foundation short for keep it small and simple. Since 2016 its team has been establishing new Neighborhood Networks and to prevent social isolation only our idea is to strengthen social cohesion to quickly i say quickly in quotation marks to quickly get people connected so that they can support one another and this is basically their take responsibility on their own strength and solidarity thats whats most important to us he said. This helps neighbors help one another with car rides shopping or going out on walks no money changes hands instead the networks 200 members document the time spent its then credited to their time account. So they can seek help in return or save up credit for later. The biggest demand is for conversation 1960 hours were booked last year alone. Help with everyday activities was next but 1917 hours. Has changed my as life through it she met you did fisher has been paying my a regular visits for a year now. Very. Good with the mobile with and without. But im with you and it is a lawyer who lives nearby today shes helping my attend her garden something she cant do on her own. Regular interaction has been shown to increase peoples Life Satisfaction coos member unit fisher profits to. Yes mothers day my year month that i 1st time someone from kiss is always on hand they introduce the people and see if theyre a good match. I hope that we would get along. But when i saw her i knew right away that she was right for me. And so we found one another. Shes a wonderful woman who always helps me. Even. Knowing that their helper is being compensated with a time credit makes it easier for some to accept assistance if. They dont feel like theyre accepting charity. This kid can see here this conflict gives both of us a sense of security i can go away on holiday knowing someones looking after my garden someone who knows about gardening as you can see. And in turn she knows that if somethings up she can call me on the roof and say that is so reassuring isnt it today you did has added another hour to our time account it could be an investment that will pay off in the future when she herself might be in need of companionship or practical help. Put it. The university of casa sociologist yarnall show been conducts lectures and research on social isolation and friendship. Now and then he enjoys being on his own and having time to think but being alone by choice is not the same as being lonely. And while there was sort of taking time out and focusing on yourself are ways in which you also test the boundaries of being human and stanza haustus that in a way being alone is a very particular and in the modern day also highly prized Life Experience and its a specifically human one you want encounter any other way. And this withdrawal is actually a unique opportunity to learn something about yourself so you can view it positively to the on ones or come on a supportive set. Still few people can stand being alone for too long. After a certain time the desire for contact and interaction becomes overpowering. Experts call this impulse to seek the company of others the really affiliation motive. d here mentions its a tad of easy place in the us social creatures which ultimately means that we as a group needed others to survive because think about the stone age alone is didnt get phone lines and according to this theory the feeling of loneliness evolved as a warning signal so that when we are alone and missing our group when we no longer feel part of it we suffer. And that makes us try to rejoin now try and stop them thats a few of us who has ruined because. The biology of loneliness is also being probed in southern germany. Here near xylem constance 200 barbary apes living. 20 hectares of woodland in groups of up to 40 animals. Behavioral ecologist like Nadine Miller kline hope their research on these primates will provide insights into Human Evolution and that we cant really look at whether animals are lonely because thats subjective what we can look at is social isolation and integration and asks how do they influence the health of. Barbary apes have very differentiated social relationships the males tend to forge a close alliance of similar human friendships those who dont make enough ties remain on the groups fringes. And you always choose one animal to be your focal subject and then collect data for certain amount of time once youve gathered the data you can see how many partners you animal interacted with how many it groomed and how many partners it came into contact that from that you can draw conclusions about the animals relationship structure as. Well connected males are more successful in the fight to climb the social ladder they also make. Then its in the palms that land lots of aggression it has like now during mating season and animals have a lot of aggressive interaction that can be stressful but the animals who have strong connections experience less stress the animals who have used connections and are a bit isolated off far more affected by the stressful situation that i thought these are stressing that someone feels. She tests for the presence of a stress hormone cortisol in the animal species. Apes release cortisol when they feel threatened as to humans. This response triggers our emergency fight or flight response. That boosts our Blood Pressure blood sugar level and circulatory system our immune systems and digestion or dial down. Chronically Lonely People become chronically stressed which can seriously impact their health. The risk of having a heart attack rises by 29 percent a stroke by 32 percent and the likelihood of dying prematurely by 30 percent. So chronic loneliness reduces Life Expectancy as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Having high Blood Pressure. Or being obese. In the u. K. The British Red Cross says loneliness has reached epidemic levels here over 9000000 people for almost one 5th of the population have said they are always or often lonely. In 28000 the government appointed a loneliness minister. Tracy crouch pursues a strategy called social prescribing. We find out how it works and from the southwest of england. From in the mendip district in somerset has just 20000 residents but it boasts an Extraordinary HealthServices Network run by doctors and dedicated locals. Today a few of them are paying a visit to the mens shed. Its a workshop designed to combat social isolation. Men often find it harder to admit theyre lonely than women. Patrick abraham started the project 2 years ago. If you put 12 men over 65 in a room and said talk to each other about your life your relationships your health and your aspirations 6 will leave the room immediately and the other 6 will sit around the walls and say nothing if you throw a broken old mother in there and say hey guys fix that within 2 hours i dont know whos what i was a Skilled Staff who they are and then names and Everything Else. The longer people are socially isolated the tougher it is for them to reintegrate thats how it was for even williams after a long stint living in australia he returned to frome 2 years ago. Although his sister lives here hes had trouble meeting people my fellow so i have been on the ice so you know like a group of people when youre on the outside youve got to make the effort to step in and well show you the 1st really scene sister found out about the men shed on the internet through the Health Connections network and urged him to go there. Point came down and open the door. For the body looks just like the usual pub you know he was open to all who came the number looks at you through the almost one word and even if they were said come in come in you know we have a laugh and a joke of it and we talk about it talk about things in general you know we can fix breakfast in 3 minutes or you know whats all the stuff you know once a week gives you something. For aim for to calm you know youve got to calm to come because you want to and because you want to meet people. Today julie carey downs is also visiting the mention she works for Health Connections mendham and has an overview of all the networks initiatives its her job to maintain and expand the network in the energy industry. She asks if the shed could open in the evenings too so younger men could come i think a few people who are working would be video and started coming because its like once they finished but i suppose actually they expect if they could i think yes this is just me 7 guns 66 so i stopped it might be a case is this is that why julie culture self the Health Connector thats because she connects doctors and patients with the many public and private outreach programs for people in from. The community itself to fall off to fields that get all the stuff that they not be in. Told to do move west to find things that are actually part of it and they feel like i know that i once people how fast they tend to. Sort of join in things of that mole. 6 years ago a doctor at this medical practice declared war on the lineas. Local dr helen kingston realized many of her patients were suffering from social isolation. And so was their health. To this community it matters to me what happens here and i know my patients very well ive been here for over 20