The problem of loneliness in Sweden began to be solved by winter swimming and greetings on the streets

Winter swimming in the ice hole is not only Russian “fun”. The Swedes love her too. Descending from the snow-covered shore directly to the ocean, residents of a small town in northern Sweden called Luleå plunge into a seawater wormwood.

Life in Lapland, primarily due to frost, winds and a small population, is quite difficult. At the end of November, the sun sets as early as 2 pm, and a month later, by Christmas, there will be only three hours of daylight per day.

Tourists really like Luleå because there is a high chance of seeing the northern lights, so a new direct winter “seasonal” SAS flight will soon be launched from London.

However, this does not help local residents get rid of the feeling of loneliness, reports The Guardian.

Swimming in a wormwood is one of the “stressful” methods to invigorate the body and lift your spirits. “After the wormwood, I feel a real surge of joy,” comments 44-year-old Katarina Yliperttula, who takes a dip in sea water every morning before work. Although in the summer she practically does not swim, in the winter the wormwood becomes her cure for her bad mood.

The dark season, so attractive to visitors due to the shimmering sky, through which, according to one legend, a fiery fox runs and wags its tail, becomes a period of depression for the residents of Luleå. Therefore, they actively begin to engage in winter sports – skiing, swimming in ice holes, walking on the frozen ocean, since the ice freezes several meters.

However, the problem of loneliness is not being solved, especially since there are many people living in Luleå who have come here to work in various companies. Plus, the situation around the world has been worsened by the pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently said that humanity is facing “global loneliness” because people have little face-to-face interaction with each other, which can cause serious deterioration in physical and psychological health.

During the pandemic, according to sociological surveys, 66% of respondents in Sweden felt lonely; in 2022, the figure changed to 60%. However, it is obvious that the topic of loneliness is one of the main problems in the social life of the Scandinavian country, especially since it is relevant in a small northern town.

Therefore, the Swedes themselves decided to fight the difficulties. As you know, start with yourself and the world will change. Åsa Koski, who works in the city administration, came up with and launched the “Say “Hey” (“hello” in Swedish) campaign. Its meaning is that you need to force yourself (and this is not at all easy at the beginning) to say hello to a complete stranger in a public space. She wants the city, which is undergoing a period of rapid growth as it tries to attract tens of thousands of new people to work in green industries and other sectors of the economy, to become a more “pleasant, safe and friendly city than before, with culture, leisure and sports ” Koski said that “research has shown that our behavior affects our health, and if you say hello to your neighbors, you are more likely to help them improve their mood, for example.”

Posters calling for “openness” are hung around the city, advertisements for the action are on buses, and teachers teach students on this topic in schools.

The city municipality supported the company to mitigate social isolation, and this, according to residents, is very important.

“It’s very good that people say hello to each other. This means that people who meet but do not know each other become a little happier,” says Pontus Wikström, chairman of the walrus association Kallis Luleå.

The city authorities cite the following figures: 45% of Luleå residents aged 16 to 29 years old experience problems due to loneliness and from 26% among men to 39% among women aged 85 years and older.

Mikael Dahlen, a professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, emphasizes that in Sweden, with its dark and cold winters, “loneliness and isolation are becoming huge problems, and this depends on our changing lifestyle, where we do not necessarily encounter each other to the same extent as earlier”. In his opinion, this problem is especially acute in winter, when people spend less time outdoors and communicate less.

There are many people in the Swedish city who come from other countries. Thus, 62-year-old Mi Yong Yim, who moved from the United States 23 years ago, says that the indigenous people were not very friendly at first, or rather “reserved, but if you ask, people will help you.” In Luleå, it was a culture shock for her that people in Sweden, unlike the United States, do not say hello on the streets and in shops. She says that many older Swedes “looked at her with surprise” when she greeted them. However, the city is gradually changing, if only because many people come from abroad.

Loneliness is also provoked by the fact that Swedes, according to journalist and writer Lisa Bjurwald, “like to maintain a surprisingly wide so-called interpersonal distance… This rule has been around for a long time, and applies to all aspects of everyday Swedish life, from navigating the supermarket aisles to waiting bus stop. Yes, even when it rains.”

After the Covid-19 pandemic, many people admit that people are trying even harder to keep their distance because they are afraid of getting sick.

Middle Eastern student Seyed Mohsen Hashemi comments with a smile that if you say hello to strangers, they may say: “He’s drunk!”

The habit of greeting strangers, according to artist Ronja Melin, who moved to Luleå from southern Sweden in 2020, was in her home county of Skåne. And the company launched in the northern city seems to her to be a positive step. “You quite often live in your own bubble,” she shares her thoughts. “And it’s important to notice people.”

So the city is gradually becoming more international, friendly and open.