Mayo Lab Team Responds to Surgeon General’s Loneliness Advisory
In May 2023, on the heels of a Youth Mental Health advisory, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sounded the alarms about an easy-to-miss but devastating public health crisis: the rise in loneliness and isolation among Americans of all ages.
Chronic loneliness, Dr. Murthy said, can pose health risks comparable to smoking cigarettes daily. And it’s not a rare condition—about half of American adults said they’ve experienced loneliness.
“Loneliness is a crisis in America. It’s ironic because we live in the social media age that is supposed to connect us when in fact it isolates us,” said David Magee, director of operations at The Thomas Hayes Mayo Lab.
Working with children, teens and young adults, The Mayo Lab aims to educate students as they navigate mental wellness challenges like anxiety, substance misuse and loneliness. The Lab is currently working on an educational curriculum addressing these topics for K-12 students.
“It’s critical that we refocus in this country on positive engagement that breaks down the walls that cause isolation and loneliness for so many,” said Magee, who also hosts The Mayo Lab Podcast.
The Surgeon General’s strategy focuses around six core goals:
Strengthening social infrastructure, especially in local communities;
Passing legislation at all levels to enable more connection among people;
Educating and mobilizing healthcare providers to assess and advise on loneliness and related issues;
Critically evaluating social media and other technology that have an outsize impact on how Americans connect—or don’t—today;
Funding research on the root causes and effects of widespread loneliness;
Cultivating “a Culture of Connection” in Americans’ daily lives.
“The loneliness epidemic has caused many to suffer in silence for too long,” said Alexis Lee, program manager for The Mayo Lab. “This advisory and framework is encouraging and a tremendous first step to creating awareness and acknowledging the issue at hand.”
Lee went on to say that the social connection that Dr. Murthy’s advisory intends to increase has had positive impacts in her own wellness journey.
“Social connection has been a critical part of my recovery and day-to-day life. As simple as the idea may seem, the benefits are ten-fold,” she said.
