Can loneliness really ever be compared to cancer? On BBC Radio Scotland today there was a focus on the ‘loneliness epidemic’. It was encouraging to know that the issue of loneliness is being brought to more people’s attention. It was also really difficult to hear how much this problem affects so many people, with one caller comparing loneliness to cancer in terms of how widespread it is and how, like cancer used to be, people are so wary of talking about it.

On the radio programme we heard one listener explain that she has a cat who is the only ‘person’ she speaks to. When we are thinking about loneliness at that level, when people are never speaking to anyone apart from their pets, we can see how serious a problem this is.

It was also interesting to find out how this affects people all over Scotland, from all walks of life. From a man who phoned in to share about the problem of loneliness faced by Muslims at his Mosque to a woman in her thirties who has a successful job but not one thing planned for over the weekend (“which is the same as usual”) it was clear to see that this is an issue that can affect anyone.

Projects like Angus McFlourish seek to reduce social isolation and loneliness and it was good to hear that the simple ideas that have been suggested for beating loneliness through this project are the same that other people have benefited from. A woman called Janet phoned in and shared how she had tried to end her life before because she felt so lonely and isolated. Fortunately, Janet had a sudden realisation that she wanted to make the most of her life and now she loves it. Janet explained, “Today I’m going to the pictures, tomorrow I’m going to the theatre and the day after I’ll be playing Scrabble”.

We know that difficulties with your mental health don’t go away over night but thanks to the ideas and suggestions from projects like Angus McFlourish, we know that having activities in your diary, and some tips to get you through difficult times, can have a real impact on your wellbeing.

Thank you to BBC Radio Scotland for drawing attention to this important issue.