(1888PressRelease)
April 17, 2008 - New research based on a high-quality random survey of nearly 1,500 Americans provides substantiated evidence of our growing social isolation. Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago, and a sharply growing number of people say they have no one in whom they can confide.
We may send 100 emails a day, and have hundreds of friends on MySpace or face book, but with out a live conversation, we are still alone. Most individuals that took the survey could not count on their neighbors as friends whom they could rely on. For those that are married, the spouse is their only real friend. When this relationship fails, they have no one.
The results, being published in the American Sociological Review, took researchers by surprise because they had not expected to see such a steep decline in close social ties.Smith-Lovin said, “ increased professional responsibilities, including working two or more jobs to make ends meet, and long commutes leave many people too exhausted to seek social -- as well as family -- connections: "Maybe sitting around watching 'Desperate Housewives' . . . is what counts for family interaction."
Every 10-minute increase in commutes makes it 10 percent less likely that people will establish and maintain close social ties, said Harvard Professor Robert Putnam, author of “Bowling Alone” a book about increasing social isolation.
Motivate 4 Success, a Recovery Coach program, has built their programs to address social isolation as a main factor to relapse and lack of motivation to change behavior. Loneliness, isolation and poor social skills, are common with addicts and alcoholics. Recovery cannot happen without increase in social contact. The recovery program from Motivate 4 Success, talks to their clients daily, building for many of them the first real connection with another person. Developing that close personal relationship with the client allows for rapid progress in social skills.
“We help people recovery from Life; change cannot happen without the development of these skills.” Coach Chez Wise, CC, Motivate 4 Success. "Individuals leaving Rehab are consistently told to attend 12 step meetings. The success rate is less than 5% for 1 year of abstinence, and relapse usually occurs within the first 90 days. The inability of the client to create relationships on their own, and the sudden lose of their new sober community; both contribute directly to the lack of positive results".
