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04 August, 2013

Health Consequences of Loneliness - Get the Free Kindle - Last Day


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This post is an excerpt of of the book " How To Pray Through Depression & Loneliness!  



Pause to ponder on the word of God


Psalm 23:4  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me

2 Corinthians 7:5-6 “For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn-fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,”

Jeremiah. 8:21"Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me.”

Jeremiah 9:1 “If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered.”

Psalm 121:1-2  “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Stop and read

John T. Cacioppo, Professor at the University of Chicago explains why loneliness is bad for you.
“Loneliness not only increases wear and tear, by keeping the body in alert mode, but also may prevent people from recharging their batteries with rest and relaxation… His work has convinced Cacioppo that loneliness is a health risk on its own, apart from conditions such as depression or stress that are common fellow travellers. More specifically, it seems to be the subjective experience of loneliness that’s important for people’s well-being, rather than any objective measure of social connectivity (the number of close contacts someone has, for example). It’s an important distinction that most previous studies had ignored, says Daniel Russell, a psychologist at
Iowa State University in Ames. “Some people are socially isolated and they’re not lonely,” Russell says. “By contrast, some people are lonely even if they have a lot of social contacts.”

Because loneliness is a negative feeling, it, of course, affects us physically and mentally. In fact, studies have shown that life can become so distorted through loneliness that some people want to commit suicide. Some people would do anything to get attention, others become drug addicts, and some drink heavily, all to escape their own world. Some people gain weight, some become irritated and irrational, there is also sleep deprivation, and some exhibit various levels of anger. 


Here is a partial list associated with the effect of loneliness in our lives.
1.      Lead to depression
2.      Depression and suicide
3.      Antisocial behaviour
4.      Sleeplessness
5.      May trigger substance abuse for those in addiction recovery
6.      Altered brain function
7.      Poor decision-making
8.      It affects your spiritual life with God
9.      Causes drastic decrease of memory
10.    Cardiovascular disease and stroke


It does not matter which study you look into, they will all tell you that loneliness can be overcome. After you go through all the psychobabble, you find that the bottom line is helping those who are affected by loneliness and depression to shift their attention and interpretation of their situation in a more positive direction.  This brings me to ask you a question about your loneliness. Have you thought about making the God that you serve, your all and all? I have one verse from Revelation 12:11 “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

Pray to God  

Oh my dear Savior, I no longer want to live a fragmented and unhealthy life. Restore my life in you and make me whole. I need your light to shine within me today and take the darkness away.  Come and take my burden away and let me experience your peace. Teach me how to delight in you. Teach me how to make you my God. Teach me how to learn to focus on you and yearn for you. Unchangeable God, right now I feel like a hypocrite because the self has never decreased. Help me trust myself to your care. Help me to stop serving my own ends and let you deal with me. Fear, doubt and self-centeredness are all I know. Help me live a life of trust in you alone. A life completely subdued and overpowered by you. Above all else, help me to live out my identity in you. Shed your love in my heart and help me walk in fellowship with you. Give me wisdom to see clearly and understand your mighty sacrifice for me. Teach my heart how to trust you. Make me willing to be willing to do your will, make me willing to walk the walk and die to self so that I can leave behind loneliness, depression, fear, paranoia,  anxiety and everything else that comes with not trusting you to care for my life. Help me to experience life lived in you.


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