Many of us look forward to the holiday season as a time to connect with family and friends away from the grinding pressure of work and unending deadlines. But with emotions running high, it can also be a tricky time for those who face increased levels of loneliness.
According to the latest Medibank Loneliness Population Index, 22 per cent of people said the Christmas holiday period was a key trigger of loneliness for them. It’s a similar story for other holidays across the year, with 18 per cent of people indicating Easter and public holidays made them feel lonely.
Georgie Harman, CEO of Beyond Blue, says Christmas and the New Year period can be an emotionally loaded time and it’s normal to feel more lonely than usual as our social connections are put under the spotlight.
“There are so many expectations and pressures about having ‘the perfect Christmas’, and it’s a time that can bring greater financial pressures and place strain on relationships,” Harman tells Women’s Agenda.
“For people experiencing loneliness it can be an especially hard time because Christmas magnifies your sense of being isolated. It can feel as though everyone has a full social calendar and you’re being left on your own. This can be really painful and can affect how you feel about yourself.”
Loneliness is described as the feeling of wanting greater social connection than you have. It’s a feeling we can all experience at different points of our lives, even if we’re often surrounded by people. Harman says it’s good to think of loneliness as an internal alert that signals we need some deeper social connection.
“It’s a very normal emotion, but it can also be an awful feeling, a physical ache,” Harman says, noting that if we leave our feelings of loneliness unchecked, it can lead to other mental health issues.
“Connection is a foundational building block for mental health, and put simply, we cannot be mentally healthy while we’re experiencing loneliness.”
Don’t wait for things to snowball
If you’re already aware that loneliness is something you might experience this festive season, it can help to create a plan so you know how to respond when it creeps in.
While advice about loneliness often centres around creating new connections, it’s a difficult time of year to make it happen. Instead, Harman suggests focusing on deepening your existing connections that bring you joy.
“An easier starting point is to focus on quality over quantity,” she says. “Taking any of your existing relationships and seeing if you can deepen it just a little bit by getting to know each other better.”
Meanwhile don’t underestimate the positive impact of small day-to-day interactions. As Harman notes, there’s research that shows the micro interactions you have chatting with your neighbour as you walk the dog, or saying hello to your barista can create a sense of connection and help ease the felling of loneliness
“It doesn’t have to be a big thing but taking the time to initiate a little bit of social connection with the people around us can help,” Harman says.
Beyond Blue also offers a Wellbeing Action Tool on their website, which can help you create a wellbeing plan to help get you through the holidays. Harman also says don’t hesitate to give Beyond Blue a call to talk it through or jump onto an online forum – it’s never too early to get in touch.
What can you do to support others who are feeling lonely?
As the festive season approaches, being more considerate of people in the community who might be experiencing loneliness is something we can all do. It doesn’t take much to reach out to someone and check if they’d like to be included in any plans you have over the break.
It could be as simple as organising a coffee catch-up with a colleague, or inviting a neighbour to join in with your celebrations.
Harman also says that we should take care to be mindful of how we talk about our own festive season plans.
“If we’re lucky enough to have a lot of social activities, be careful that we’re not talking about them in a way that might make someone else feel bad about their lack of social events,” Harman said.
Finally, it’s good to remember that all of us feel lonely at different times and it’s ok if your holiday celebrations don’t look like everyone else’s.
To learn more about Medibank’s commitment to reducing loneliness head to We Are Lonely | Medibank.
About the research
Research commissioned by FiftyFive5 on behalf of Medibank. Research was conducted in July 2024, among a sample of (n=4,131) Australians.
If you need to speak to someone now, you can reach Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.