New Narratives: Loneliness, mental health, and the role of social connections

Blog by Andrew Wileman
– The Salvation Army

“My poverty of relationships is starting to do my head in!” was the startling line from a conversation recently that struck a chord with me.

Relational poverty and a lack of meaningful social connection in someone’s life, if left unchecked, can lead to feelings of isolation, and for increasing numbers it is leaving our mental health in crisis. In a world where we are better connected than at any time in our history, but we are lonelier than ever, something is going drastically wrong.

The work on Loneliness and Isolation that I engage in leading for The Salvation Army in the UK and Ireland is at the frontline of understanding relational poverty. Our most recent data shows that 6 out of 10 people who seek assistance from the Salvation Army report being lonely, and over half of that number say they have some form of mental health issue. This inextricable link between mental health and loneliness, is literally ‘doing people’s heads in’ every day.

Many of our front-line services support people living in disadvantage in poor housing, unemployment, disability, and vulnerability. Though we often think of poverty as a lack of financial resources, relational poverty expands on this, considering the wider context and complexity in someone’s life. Often, we see individuals with a profound lack of nurturing relationships which, when combined with things like stigma and shame, lead to almost unimaginable levels of loneliness and poor mental health amongst those experiencing deprivation.

Through our work in homelessness, we have seen that for people with pre-existing mental health problems, frequent moves and transient housing increases the likelihood of a mental health crisis. Loneliness increases the risk of anxiety, depression, sleep problems and stress across all age groups. In addition to being at higher risk of poor mental health, people from all age groups and social standings are reporting to us that they are increasingly feeling cut off from others.

Our findings also show this is happening to more men. Six out of every ten people who we support who reported Loneliness and mental health as an issue were men.

Loneliness in men in particular has been referred to as a silent battle. It’s a complex issue – rooted in cultural expectations, personal beliefs, and emotional habits.

My experience says that we are in an unprecedented era of relational poverty, particularly for men. 8 million men in the UK feel lonely at least once a week (Royal Voluntary Service/Jo Cox Loneliness Foundation 2025). In addition to this, countless studies from across the world have confirmed that men have fewer close friends than women – and the problem gets worse the older men get. Dealing with loneliness alone is hard. Finding the courage for men to seek help might be one of the most challenging things they ever do.

Social connectedness is vital, and having a good friend to confide in can literally be life or death. For some men this might be a case of strengthening relationships with friends they have now or reconnecting with those that have drifted. For others, it might mean building new friendships altogether. For men living in social disadvantage this becomes increasingly difficult.

What interventions and examples of good practice are out there from which we can learn?

Join our upcoming Webinar on February 26th where we will look at this in more detail. You can sign up for the webinar here“.