Extroverted by nature, Hunter Karam has always been someone with lots of friends. Yet when the Sydney local was reeling from the end of a long-term relationship in his early 20s, he felt he had no one to turn to. While long days at his construction job kept him busy, it left him too tired to maintain meaningful connections with friends.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today “I didn’t have that ability to be authentic and open and vulnerable in front of my friends out of the fear of judgement and isolation for breaking those gender-stereotypical norms,” he told 7NEWS.com.au.
It took time before he could confront the uncomfortable feeling gnawing away: loneliness. Karam is not alone. One in four Australians experience long-term loneliness, according to new research from Ending Loneliness Together.
The new Why We Feel Lonely report found that 41 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds reported feeling persistent loneliness – lasting at least eight weeks. This was followed by 32 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds and just 10 per cent of the over-75 cohort. Australians who were single, experiencing financial hardship, unemployed, or had poor health were more likely to be lonely.
“Loneliness is being repositioned as a serious global public health threat,” Ending Loneliness Together CEO and scientific chair Associate Professor Michelle H Lim said in the report. “We need to stop thinking of loneliness as a ‘soft’ issue.” Australians are eager to connect, as people t.