Page 3986 - Week 11 - Thursday, 26 September 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
community. It will ensure that people with disability have every opportunity to fully participate in the social, cultural and economic life of our city. We know that Canberra is one of the most socially inclusive cities in Australia. I am proud to work with the rest of my colleagues in the Assembly to ensure that all Canberrans feel included and valued in our community.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (3.13): I am pleased to have an opportunity to discuss this matter today and I welcome Ms Le Couteur putting it on the agenda, because considering loneliness as a public health issue is an area we do need to draw more attention to. Some of the discussion today has underlined that fact. We need to look at ways that we can reduce loneliness and improve social inclusion, because it has a real impact on people’s health and wellbeing.
Loneliness is increasingly being recognised worldwide as a critical social issue that can significantly affect people’s quality of life and also impact on their physical and mental wellbeing. Loneliness is a subjective and unwelcome feeling of a lack or loss of companionship. The feeling occurs when there is a mismatch between the quantity and quality of social relationships that we desire and those that we actually experience.
It is often associated with social isolation, which is when people have minimal contact with others. However, it is also important to note that people with few social connections may not actually feel lonely and that, conversely, people can feel lonely when they are surrounded by others and have many social connections. That is perhaps an odd one to think about, but I am sure we can all think of a case where we might have observed that amongst people we know or have even experienced it ourselves. In addition to this, loneliness can be experienced at different levels of intensity and severity. While passing feelings of loneliness can be common, loneliness can become chronic and lead to a cycle of self-reinforcing negative thoughts. It can make it difficult for people to improve their social connections and improve their feelings of loneliness.
It is suggested that rates of loneliness are increasing in Australia and around the world. According to a report on loneliness in Australia released by the Australian Psychological Society and Swinburne University in 2018, one in four Australians are lonely. According to this study, compared to their less lonely counterparts, lonely Australians reported higher social anxiety and depression and poorer psychological health and quality of life.
These observations are consistent with international research that suggests a myriad of harmful effects on physical and mental wellbeing that are caused by loneliness. These include studies that have reported that loneliness can lead to an increased risk of developing depression, low self-esteem, difficulty sleeping and personality disorders. Loneliness is also a major risk factor that has been associated with suicide and suicidality.
Loneliness can be experienced at all life stages. However, people under 25 and the elderly appear to be the most at risk and experience the highest severity of loneliness.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video