Loneliness is far from a new feeling. On the other hand, the latter has been amplified with the Covid-19 pandemic. Lonely people therefore feel even more alone. According to a recent study, a simple phone call could reduce this feeling of loneliness, but also the anxiety and depression that can accompany it.
Before the first lockdown in March 2020, we were talking about ways to fight anxiety and depression during this difficult time. However, it was particularly a question of keeping in touch by phone, SMS, but also by Internet (example:Skype). According to a study published in the journal JAMA Psychatry on February 23, 2021, a phone call of at least ten minutes several times a week would reduce the feeling of loneliness . Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin (USA) carried out their work on 240 volunteers aged 27 to 101.
According to the results,20% of these volunteers who received these types of calls reported feeling less alone. In order to allow this conclusion, the participants answered the three questions of the UCLA loneliness scale. These questions are:how often do you feel the lack of companionship? How many times do you feel left out? How often do you feel isolated from others?
Only half of the participants received calls for a month. The volunteers to make these same calls had been trained in empathetic communication techniques . These involve active listening as well as asking questions about the topics the person is talking about.
The first week, participants received calls for five days, then between two and five times a week for the rest of the month. These people were thus able to talk about various subjects of daily life. According to the researchers, these calls improved the mental health of the participants, but also depression and anxiety compared to the volunteers in the control group. Anxiety levels reduced by more than 30% on the GAD-7 scale measuring mental disorders. Episodes of depression were reduced by 24% based on the PHQ-8 scale.
For the study leaders, the results for anxiety and depression are even more striking than those for loneliness. From now on, it is a question of putting into practice the means of this study in reality. Researchers recommend that single people regularly contact a family member or a friend they trust completely.
