PRESENTATION
Loneliness in recovery: A closer look
Loneliness and social isolation are emerging public health issues across the world. Being loneliness and socially isolated leads to an earlier death and poorer health and wellbeing outcomes. I will present the evidence of the impact of loneliness on health and how it should be differentiated from social isolation. Loneliness is a feasible target for psychosocial interventions and has the potential to facilitate recovery. But yet, it is often neglected and ignored in treatment or care. I will present current evidence on rehabilitation and provide practical strategies that can be used to ensure that people feel meaningfully connect for better recovery.
About the Presenter
Associate Professor Michelle Lim is CEO of Ending Loneliness Together a national Australia network made up of universities and industry partners who are focused on combatting chronic loneliness in Australians across the lifespan. She is also the Director of the Social Health and Wellbeing Group at the Sydney School of Public Health, the University of Sydney.
Associate Professor Lim led the development of the National Strategy for Loneliness and Social Isolation in Australia and has written two government White Papers on this issue. She is also chief investigator of the Australian Loneliness Report (2018) and the Young Australian Loneliness Survey (2019). Her work informs the Australian government, not-for-profit, and corporate sector. Her findings notes that one in four Australians aged 12 to 89 report problematic levels of loneliness. In 2020, Dr Lim also cofounded and was the inaugural co-director of the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection, an international coalition of organisations across 12 countries committed to ending the pressing global issue of loneliness and social isolation.
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