Call your grandparent, visit an elderly neighbor, volunteer at your local senior center, enlist older individuals to join your workforce as expertsand -- most importantly -- dont forget how lonely, isolated and disconnected you felt this past year.

Humans crave connection. We develop from cells connected to another person. We are born into a world full of people and we thrive when we are held, touched, caressed, fed and loved. Somehow, as we grow older, our craving for connection changes. Toddlers rant and shout get away, teenagers duck the hug from a parent and adults move from hugs to handshakes. This past year has been a lesson and awakening to many about our primal need for connection.

Unforgettable may be the word to describe this pandemic year. However, as a psychologist, I understand how human behavior will propel us in another direction. We will remember the losses, the quarantineand the home schooling but time will soften the edges of those negative memories and some will fade completely as we begin to socialize, hug our friends and go back to a way of living that is happily familiar. Most individuals will move forward in their life slowly and steadily but others may struggle to do so because before the pandemic; there was already an invisible epidemic that unfortunately may continue to go unseen -- loneliness.

If you are someone who was spared from the detrimental impact of the physical and social disconnection during this past year, you are lucky. Most of us experienced some form of disconnection and felt the loss. However, many of us had resources, skills and needed technology to adapt and find a new way to connect. We started zooming dinner parties, telephoning old college friends and hosting work happy hours and virtual game nights. Some of us even podded with other individuals/families/groups to reduce some of the consequences we were experiencing from the required restrictions placed upon us. As we go back to our lives, remember that our communities are filled with people that have and will continue to suffer from the impact of physical and social disconnection.

An especially hard hit group during and before the pandemic are older adults and the elderly. Loneliness and disconnection or feelings of isolation can create a mental health crisis in individuals. Research has detailed health consequences that include premature mortality.

Lacking social connection carries a risk that is comparable, and in many cases, exceeds that of other well-accepted risk factors, including smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day, obesity, physical inactivity, and air pollution (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). This research article, titled, Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review, was published back in 2010 and indicates that social connection has a direct impact on not only mental health but also physical health.

In a more recent 2017 article, J. Lubben states, Strong social relationships are essential for a good life. The consequences of neglecting this fact become especially apparent in old age. Thus it is urgent that more attention be given to social isolation as a potent killer.

Human beings need connection for their physical and emotional well-being. We are created to connect and be connected with others. Social connection is a protective factor to cognitive decline, heart disease, depression and much more.

Social connection does not equal company. Loneliness can occur even when people are among others. You can be alone and not feel lonely and vice versa. With a growing adult population who are increasingly living alone, the risk of loneliness is growing larger and the impact to our communities greater.

A task force, Salem for all Ages, was created to support the work of the World Health Organization and AARPs sponsored campaign to combat loneliness. When the task force was first established five years ago, isolation was the top item respondents listed as an issue on a survey. In Salem, North Shore Community Health Center partnered with the Council on Aging prior to the pandemic to provide counseling to older adults. When everything shut down, individuals were reluctant to have virtual counseling. Thankfully, this has changed recently and North Shore Community Health behavioral health clinicians are using the Community Life Center to provide counseling to those 55 and older in the community.

While the pandemic has created widespread misfortune one positive outcome may be the reduction in stigma surrounding mental health as well as an increase in access to individuals needing support.

If you are one of those individuals or someonewho wants to support an older adult here are some things that can mediate the risks associated with loneliness:

Reach out and connect. This can be volunteering, working for a social cause or purpose, or joining a group that shares a like or hobby.

Check in on older adults in your community: neighbors, relatives, the person you see every week sitting alone in the coffee shop.

Furry interactions offer great benefits. Visit a dog park. If you are a relative of an older adult and have a pet, bring them along on your visit.

If you are feeling lonely or believe loneliness is impacting a loved one, reach out for help. Contact their primary care physician, their religious or spiritual leader, a counselor or other family members to make a plan and take action.

Dr. Angela Parente is a clinical psychologist and the director of behavioral health at North Shore Community Health Center. She is also the primary caretaker of her 94-yeat-old aunt who enjoys weekly visits with Chiara the cat. This column was produced in cooperation with the Salem for All Ages Task Force.

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Column: Coming together to overcome loneliness and isolation - The Salem News