YESTERDAY, pharmacist and Founder of Pharmacy Addressing Loneliness and Social-isolation (PALS) Jenny Kirschner (pictured), spoke about loneliness to over 70 grade two students aged eight to nine years at a local primary school.
According to the State of the Nation (Australia) Social Connection Report 2023, young people aged 18-24 years report the highest levels of loneliness.
"It would, therefore, seem clear that we need early interventions," commented Kirschner.
"We believe that early education on loneliness should be an integral part of a Social Emotional Learning or SEL curriculum.
"This will help to introduce the word loneliness, provide an understanding of the experience and educate on how to respond to loneliness," explained Kirschner.
Introducing the word loneliness into a child's vocabulary will help to reduce the stigma and shame of the loneliness experienced later on in a child's life, she added.
The children shared and described words such as feeling invisible, heartbroken, sad, excluded, scared and "it was soon pretty obvious who in the classroom already had their own experiences with loneliness," she noted.
Given the health consequences of loneliness, it is a health imperative that healthcare professionals like pharmacists play a role in preventing and addressing the condition, she concluded. JG
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