What is Loneliness Awareness Week?

This week aims to raise awareness of loneliness in our society and help people make connections to tackle loneliness.

This year’s Loneliness Awareness Week runs from Monday 13th June – to Friday 17th June 2022. Loneliness Awareness Week was started by the loneliness charity Marmalade Trust in 2016 to encourage people to speak openly about this issue and also to raise awareness of it.

Loneliness in our communities is a huge problem. The COVID pandemic has made this worse for many people. There is also much stigma around talking about loneliness or admitting to being lonely. Misconceptions of who can be lonely continue as it is experienced by all ages, not just older people.

Loneliness is a human emotion. Our brains are designed for human interaction and communication, so when this doesn’t happen our loneliness is the indicator that means we need more. When we’re not feeling connected to the people around us for long periods of time, it affects our mental health and wellbeing. Loneliness is our brain’s ‘need’ for human interaction and connection.

Loneliness Awareness Week aims to encourage people to share their experiences of loneliness so that we can all understand it and help to take action to combat it.

The best way to tackle loneliness is to talk about it. 

Are you feeling low or lonely? We can help. 

Call our Time2Talk helpline on 0300 303 3691 

Or email us at: time2talk@livingoptions.org