Unfortunately, the holiday season can serve as a reminder to many Americans of their isolation. As the cliché goes, no man is an island; we need friends, family, and companionship to sustain ourselves. A wiser soul once told me that if you ever think about reaching out to someone, never hesitate. And accordingly, that’s my encouragement. A card, e-mail, text, phone call, or smoke signal...anything can be used as a message to tell a friends you are thinking about them.

The isolation felt by so many Americans is in fact a looming public health threat. Loneliness manifests itself physically and is as closely linked to early mortality as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day or consuming more than six alcoholic drinks a day. Loneliness is even worse for longevity than being obese or physically inactive. It is estimated that the lack of social contact among older adults costs Medicare $6.7 billion a year, which goes to nursing facilities and hospitalization for those who cannot meet the challenges of everyday life alone.

I’ve linked an article from The Wall Street Journal that tells the stories of some of the people who are carrying the burden of loneliness into their senior years. It makes for heavy reading, but it is worthwhile nonetheless….

And, again, my simple Christmas suggestion is that if each one of us contacts one friend a day over the next week, the world will be a better place! Good luck!