***This content comes from the Joint Pain Programme Journal by Nuffield Health. As a Rehab Specialist running this program, I’m excited to share these helpful insights with you all.

Many people who have joint pain can feel lonely or become socially isolated. This can impact both your physical and mental health.

Feeling lonely can also impact your pain symptoms and make your pain feel worse.

Social Isolation

People who are experiencing joint pain may find it more difficult to engage in all the activities that they would like to or used to.

Sometimes it can be difficult to know how your pain levels will vary, which can lead to cancelling pre-planned events at short notice.

This can lead to frustration, particularly if you were looking forward to spending time with others.

Feeling isolated from others can enhance feelings of loneliness and can lead to unhelpful thoughts such as:

• You no longer have things in common with people.

• People don’t understand your situation.

You Don’t Have to Be Alone to Be Lonely

Many of us can identify with how difficult it can feel to be lonely, and it is likely that everyone has felt lonely at some point in their life.

Sometimes you can be in a room full of people yet still feel a sense of loneliness, even though you may be surrounded by friends and family.

If you are experiencing feelings of loneliness, it is important to remember that these feelings do not mean that there is anything wrong with you or your life, or that you are broken.

Loneliness happens when there is a mismatch between how much connection you would like to have with others and how much you actually have.

You can feel disconnected from others when people around you may not understand you in the way you would like or need them to.

Having joint pain or a chronic health condition can make it hard for others to understand what it is like to live with long-term pain.

Loneliness can also stem from life changes, such as having to make adjustments because of your joint pain or other health problems, which means that life becomes different from how it used to be for you.

Quality of Connections

Loneliness has more to do with the quality of the connections you have with others rather than how many people you know or spend time with.

Meaningful and authentic connections can protect you from feeling lonely and can prevent the disconnect that loneliness brings to your relationships with others.

Taking Action Against Loneliness

When you're lonely, it's easy to feel helpless, but there are lots of helpful actions you can take.

Get Connected

• Having joint pain or a related health condition may limit what you can do physically at times, but it doesn’t have to stop you from reaching out to others.

• You can take control of your loneliness and have meaningful and fulfilling relationships with others.

• Finding new ways to interact with others is more helpful than blaming yourself for not being able to join in activities the way you used to.

• If you are struggling to go out as much as you would like, find ways to have meaningful days or nights ‘in’ instead.

• Plan for those times where even if you have to cancel, you can still participate in some way.

• Make sure you stay in touch with others, in person, by phone, or via social media.

Explore New Hobbies or Interests

• If you have interests like art, cooking, or sports, make an extra effort to make time for them, ideally in group settings whenever possible.

• Find out about local classes in your area or join a community group.

• Activities like this are a great way to meet people who share a common interest with you while also helping to take your mind off of your pain symptoms.

Talk to Others About How You Are Feeling

• A lot of the time when people feel lonely, they keep it to themselves and don’t tell anyone. This is often due to worries about what others will think or say.

• This fear of being judged can lead to unhelpful cycles of negative thinking that can make us feel even more alone.

• The best first step you can take is to talk to someone. If you feel like you don't have anyone close to you or are uncomfortable talking to friends or family, it might be worth talking to someone neutral.

Reach Out

• If loneliness is impacting your well-being, it's important to reach out to services that can connect you with new people, communities, or professional help.

Plan for Taking Control of Loneliness

If you are feeling lonely make a plan here for actions you can take to take control of your loneliness.

Your Space to Reflect

📍 Starting Point

- How has joint pain affected your social connections?

- What difference do you notice between being alone and feeling lonely?

🤔 Looking Deeper

- When do you feel most connected to others?

- How does social connection affect your pain management?

💡 Exploring Possibilities

- Which ways of connecting with others feel most comfortable?

- What new social opportunities could you explore?

🔄 New Perspectives

- How might viewing loneliness as a signal rather than a failure change things?

- What would maintaining meaningful connections look like for you?