All most of us want for Christmas is … not to be lonely

New research has highlighted to need to reach out to friends and family during Christmas as many can feel lonely.

Salvation Army commander Brendan Nottle says people are often reminded of what they don’t have during the holiday season.

Christmas holidays are touted as a time of connecting with friends and family but it can be the most difficult time of the year for some people, with large numbers of Australians reporting they feel lonely during the festive holidays.

Three out of four Australians said they felt lonely over Christmas, according to new research.

And this year it comes after nearly two years of social distancing measures, which were ­designed to stop the spread of Covid-19 but have isolated loved ones from each other for long ­periods.

The Telstra survey, which was conducted online from December 2 to 5, asked 1046 Australians from across the country how they felt over the Christmas and new year holiday period.

Three in four responded that they felt lonely.

Salvation Army commander Brendan Nottle said people are often reminded of what they don’t have during the holiday season.

“There’s wall to wall media coverage, there’s billboards. They pick up on families getting together around Christmas tables sharing gifts and everybody is happy,” Mr Nottle said.

“The reality is for a lot of Australians … that three in four of us are lonely at this time of year, (and that) is certainly what we see on the ground every day.

“People feel, for a whole range of reasons, disconnected from those happy images.”

Many may not be able to visit family or give gifts to children even if they want to, Mr Nottle said. “I would go as far as saying it’s probably the most difficult time of the year for some people.”

Other research released in ­October showed four in 10 Australians regularly feel lonely, while nine in 10 said they had felt lonely at one point in their lives.

That survey, conducted between September 6 and 12 with 3047 Australians aged 18 years and older, found 54 per cent of those who took part felt they lacked companionship. Sixty-three per cent reported regularly feeling isolated from others.

Mr Nottle also pointed out many assume the elderly are more at risk of feeling lonely, but 54 per cent of generation Z and 51 per cent of millennials said they felt lonely either often, always or some of the time – higher than all other generations.

“When you think over the past two years and the disconnection that has happened, particularly with that group, they haven’t had face-to-face learning … they haven’t been able to catch up with friends or family. And they haven’t been able to celebrate milestones,” Mr Nottle said.

During the pandemic, 27 per cent of Australians said they felt lonely for the first time and nearly half said they felt lonelier as a ­result of lockdowns.

The best way to combat feelings of loneliness is to reach out and check in on each other, Mr Nottle said.

“What I think human beings desperately crave is that opportunity simply to be with others. To just relax, be yourself and sit ­together,” he said.

“If there is a need to actually start to open up and talk about deeper things, you can do that.”