An exploration of loneliness experienced by people living with mental illness and the impact on their recovery journey: An integrative review.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: To our knowledge, there are no previous reviews on the impact of loneliness experienced by people aged 18-65, who are living with mental illness and their recovery experience. To explore the experience and impact of loneliness in people living with mental illness during recovery. An integrative review. A total of 17 papers met the inclusion criteria. The search was conducted using four electronic databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus and PsycINFO. Across these 17 papers, participants were most commonly, diagnosed with schizophrenia or psychotic disorders and recruited from community mental health services. The review revealed loneliness to be substantial in people living with mental illness and that loneliness affected their recovery, and their quality of life. The review identified many factors that contribute to loneliness including unemployment, financial strain, social deprivation, group housing, internalized stigma and mental illness symptoms. Individual factors such as social/community integration and social network size as well as an inability to trust, a sense of not belonging, hopelessness and lack of romance were also evident. Interventions targeting social functioning skills and social connectedness were found to improve social isolation and loneliness. It is vital for mental health nursing practice to employ an approach integrating physical health as well as social recovery needs, optimal service delivery and augmentation of evidence-based clinical practice to improve loneliness, recovery, and quality of life.