'Health, Hope & Healing': Dr. Amy Acton examines the loneliness epidemic
The former director of the Ohio Department of Health has teamed up with 3News to help provide context and science to critical public health issues.
Dr. Amy Acton was one of the most important voices in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio.
As the director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Acton won national praise and respect for her calm, steady approach amid the fear of the unknown.
"I would say I am a very ordinary person who found myself in an extraordinary moment in the crosshairs of history, and it was the honor of a lifetime to hold space," she says of her experience during COVID-19.
Now, Dr. Acton has teamed up with 3News for a new series -- "Health, Hope & Healing" -- to help provide context and science to critical public health issues.
"While we did go through a lot -- and certainly COVID unmasked a lot that we were dealing with even before -- at the same time, we are sitting in a moment where we can create the kinds of communities and the kind of Ohio that we want to live in and be in," she adds.
For her first "Health, Hope, & Healing" report, Dr. Acton is taking a closer look at the epidemic of loneliness.
The below is reporting from Dr. Acton in her words.
Chapter 1 What we know about loneliness
In 2023, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, came out with an advisory about an "epidemic of loneliness and isolation." The report showed that being socially disconnected, which can range from feeling alone to being isolated is bad, both for individual and societal health.
In fact, looking at data going as far back as two decades, we found that one in two Americans is suffering from a sense of loneliness and isolation, and that can have profound impact on your health.
Research shows that loneliness and isolation are associated with a greater risk of heart disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and premature death.
As a doctor, the first place I always go is to the science. We couldn't have started our journey about the loneliness epidemic at a better place than at Case Western Reserve University with Dr. Eileen Anderson.
"So the Surgeon General and others have described loneliness in two ways: One is kind of the objective sense of loneliness that you don't have people in your life, but there's also that very subjective sense of loneliness that anyone can face," Dr. Anderson told us.
That loneliness isn't restricted to certain age groups. Dr. Anderson said the problem is "incredibly widespread."
"What we know is that how we feel and what we do impacts our biology as well," she added.
The Surgeon General's report is chock full of research showing the effects of isolation and disconnection, literally causing disease and death, and issues with depression and anxiety. It also affects our productivity.
I asked Dr. Anderson how something emotional or psychological gets under our skin.
"When we experience something as uplifting or hopeful or enjoyable, we have different kind of neurotransmitters released that then help our health," she explained. "But if we're having a hard time, then we start to have stress hormones like cortisol that take a toll on our body."
Dr. Anderson and I talked about beauty and the recent science on awe and wonder that can profoundly change our neurochemistry and how we feel. One of the blessings of the pandemic is we rediscovered the natural world around us.
"Some amazing studies have been launched looking at brain changes after time in nature, and it's so good for us," Dr. Anderson said.
As the two of us were walking along the beautiful campus of Case Western Reserve University, we turned a corner and stumbled into a fawn and her doe. Suddenly, you feel a happy moment, with the awe and wonder of seeing nature and beauty in the middle of city life.
It works.
It changes us.
I used to think about in the very beginning (of the pandemic) that Ohioans were trying to pull one another up on a life raft. We all had wherever we sat to help.
So with that in mind, how do we let folks suffering from loneliness back in the raft?
"People have to have enough energy to get themselves through a day to then reach out," Dr. Anderson told us. "But it's a paradox in a way because when you help someone, you actually start to feel better, too."
Chapter 2 The power of H.O.P.E.
Taking medicine for our health is important, but so much more affects our well-being. We call that the social determinants of health. Now, doctors and clinicians are screening patients for things like housing and food, and importantly, relationships and the quality of relationships.
So this is a big way that we can begin to make a difference as a healthcare system.
It was a pleasure for me to visit the Institute of H.O.P.E. at MetroHealth. H.O.P.E. is an acronym for "health," "opportunity," "partnerships" and "empowerment." It was founded at MetroHealth in 2019 and represents their commitment to identify and act on the social drivers of health.
What the Surgeon General explained in his loneliness advisory was that many of the diseases of despair we see -- whether it be gun violence, opiates and addiction, depression and anxiety -- have an underlying cause, a root cause, and that is our lack of connection.
That’s the basis of Calls for HOPE -- a program through MetroHealth’s Institute for H.O.P.E. that pairs trained volunteers with patients, especially seniors, for weekly chats over the phone.
Conversations may focus on the weather, hobbies, family, plans for the week, recipes -- anything that might get the patient talking on the road to reconnecting.
One of the most poignant moments for me in this conversation was meeting Marcie, a Calls for HOPE volunteer, as she talked about how having a relationship has changed her life.
"It was powerful," Marcie said. "I connected with this one particular patient. He and I have just become fast friends. He is my buddy and it has helped me, in a way, to think about perspective."
I had a chance to sit in as Marcie did a Call for HOPE with her buddy Claude. You can watch in the player below.
The wonderful part of this, is the solution is hidden in plain sight. It's in our individual control. What's amazing about Calls for HOPE is that it shows how little actions that we can take individually as volunteers can have a profound impact on people's lives.
"This is so easy because people don't have to leave their home, right? I mean, and that's like the first step," Marcie added. "So you give somebody a little bit of confidence, a little more socialization, they can make even more connections."
The Surgeon General's report really calls out the role of technology on our lives and on our well-being. MetroHealth's Institute of H.O.P.E. recognizes that the lack of access to the internet can be a barrier to connecting, so they have put a number of initiatives in place with partners throughout the community.
Within the last year, they have connected about 1,200 households.
Chapter 3 "A different type of judge"
While MetroHealth is working to try to get basic access to technology into homes and neighborhoods, a judge in East Cleveland is utilizing social media as a way to educate, connect and help heal.
Being isolated is something we feel across the lifespan. We certainly think about the elderly as we're aging longer, but we can't forget our young folks as well. Social media and technology is creating an opportunity for connection, but also a tremendous amount of feeling isolated and alone.
As many people know, I'm not a big social media person. However, it was eye-opening to go dive deep down the rabbit hole with Judge William Dawson.
Judge Dawson has become a TikTok sensation with more than 835,000 followers and 1.6 million likes.
"One tool of transformation that you always have to use is your ability to control your emotions so that you don't put yourself in a bad position with the law," Judge Dawson explained in a video posted to TikTok. "I grew up with a single mom in a city that's primarily African-American with high poverty, which means I got in a lot of trouble. I did some things I wasn't supposed to do, but because my mom instilled values in me, I always knew where the right road was. I wanted to bring all of my experience back to the city. So I actually make the choice to come back to East Cleveland to run for judge in this city and to try to make a difference."
Like everyone we spoke with, Judge Dawson is bringing his own life experiences to his work and to how he is emerging and healing from the pandemic.
"I said, 'You know what? I'm going to be a different type of judge. I'm going to be compassionate. I'm going to be understanding, and I'm going to have a belief in second chances.' Once social media began to become the thing to do, I said, 'I have to put my message out on social media if no one listens, just so they'll hear it like, OK, this judge is talking about compassion, or this judge is talking about don't run from the police, or these are the dangers of having bad relationships,'" Judge Dawson told us.
Many times our behaviors can be adaptations to sort of self-medicate, to try to heal ourselves. It might be through drugs or drinking, or it might be through trying to find connection maybe in the wrong places. I believe Judge Dawson understands that deeply.
Judge Dawson also impacts the lives of the community through his yoga practice.
"Yoga will help you no matter where you are. The ability to tap into your breath and calm down so you don't send anyone to jail... if you're a judge," he said with a smile. "It's invaluable."
Judge Dawson showed us his "little personal area" where he goes to decompress and plan before he heads out to the bench. He also invited me to his yoga studio, The Yoga Lab in Cleveland Heights.
"I had a very unique opportunity after we started opening things back up from the pandemic, to work with some of the seniors in our community. And it's so interesting that the first time I went there, I noticed how they were so excited about connecting," he recalled.
At the yoga studio, people come together in a shared space to check in on one another, to be together, to have fun, to feel joy and to heal. At the end of every one of his classes, Judge Dawson and his students all say, "One, two, three, I love me." He says it's to reestablish that we love ourselves so that we can then, in turn, love other people.
It's a pet peeve of mine that people see kindness as a weakness. Judge Dawson was very quick as a yogi to remind me that kindness is strong.
"I'll give you love and compassion, and I'll hit a handstand with one arm or something to let you know there's strength behind that. And then in the courtroom, it's the same thing," he said.
In the courtroom, Judge Dawson is getting rid of the word "probation." There are consequences to wrongdoing, certainly, but he refers to his courtroom as a "school of transformation." While being very much about justice, consequences and taking responsibility, Judge Dawson is also helping people find a way back to themselves and recapturing their dignity.
"I actually have some of the probationers come to the yoga studio to do yoga," he explained. "Of course, they don't have to pay. It's nothing like that. They're going to get the experience of breath work, meditation and mindfulness."
You can't be around Judge Dawson and not feel his infectious energy. He is a role model for the community.
Chapter 4 Choosing kindness
Many people have concerns about our young people and all that they have had to endure because of the pandemic.
But I see "Generation C" (as in "Generation COVID") not just as that of chaos and a virus. I see a generation that is willing to have conversations, willing to collaborate and that understands the value of community and connection.
A perfect example of the hope of "Generation C" is Augusta Halley, a wonderful young woman with a bright career ahead. We met at the Geauga County Fair, the oldest in Ohio at 201 years old. Augusta is a member of 4-H, an amazing program where kids learn responsibility and how to engage in the world to solve problems on their own.
"I actually moved from California to Ohio in ninth grade," Augusta recalled. "Then it was COVID and I mean, it was a very isolating time. So I was looking for outlets where I could kind of feel more connected and get more involved in the community. 4-H was a great opportunity."
During our conversation, Augusta was able to share a lot of what she observes in her peers and how young people can become so isolated and alone. She's not only working with the 4-H to help her community, however, Augusta is also a member of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's school safety task force.
"Just the impact of school shootings and violence, I really wanted to make a change and an impact on the community that could do some good and help us be more aware," Augusta said about why it was important for her to be on the task force.
Working with the state and with Kindland, a wonderful initiative in the Cleveland area that hopes to spread how acts of kindness can be done intentionally to change community, Augusta created the "21 Acts of Kindness" challenge game.
"It honors the 21 lives lost at Uvalde (Robb Elementary School in 2022), because that was when the project started, right after that shooting. It's a just a flyer with some fun acts of kindness. People can scan the QR code and then log their acts of kindness on the app," Augusta explained.
The impact of the program has been "phenomenal," according to Augusta.
"It's reached from west coast to east coast, so it's been really amazing to see the impact in reducing school violence, even dropout rates and bullying. It's really cool," she added.
By choosing to be kind, to be fiercely kind and just in a world where sometimes doesn't feel like it is fair or just, profoundly changes you, and it changes the world around us.
"It doesn't matter how big or small your act of kindness is," Augusta said. "Just reaching out to someone and smiling at them. I don't think people realize the power that a smile has or a wave or a hello. Just interacting with someone can be super meaningful."
Chapter 5 Resources that can help
The work being done by the people we've featured are not small acts. These are the acts that build the world we want to live in. These are the acts that help us live longer and healthier lives, to be more engaged and more successful.
We need to overcome the stigma associated with loneliness and isolation, because all of us will experience this at one time or another.
If you are really in crisis, please don't hesitate to reach out for assistance. You can call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 to ask for help. I've also put together a list of resources, including books and podcasts, that I believe can be helpful to you:
- The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley
- "Each Kindness" by Jacqueline Woodson
- "Congratulations, by the way: Some Thoughts on Kindness" by George Saunders
- "On Kindness" by Adam Phillips and Barbara Taylor
- "The Well of Being" by Jean-Pierre Weill
- On Being with Krista Tippett podcast featuring U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy
- "Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World" by Vivek Murthy
Remember that feeling we had at the beginning of the pandemic when we all came together, not because we wanted to, because everything changed on a dime. We found ourselves not alone, but actually together.
Now we are on a new journey and I encourage you to learn more about kindness and connection, as well as ways you can begin to make a difference for yourself and others. Make no mistake: We cannot wait for the world around us to change. Throughout the ages, we have built our community and our world in the very simple ways, that we engage day in and day out with one another.
I encourage you to join us on this journey of help, of healing, and of hope.
Watch: Dr. Acton talks more about the Health, Hope & Healing series with 3News' Russ Mitchell
