‘Like struggling for breath’: Loneliness takes heavy toll on Australians

John Eussen had never experienced loneliness until 2020. The gregarious charity worker and presenter of expos such as Grand Designs Live Australia and the Australian Home Shows had always been the guy people would gather around, the guy who brought people together.

And then the 58-year-old was hit by a double whammy: he separated from his wife after 31 years of marriage and COVID-19 shut down his industry.

“It’s hard to explain because I had never felt lonely before,” Mr Eussen says. “The whole physicality of it, I don’t suffer from anxiety but it was almost like trying to catch your breath.

“It was, ‘God, this is real, this is that word that people live with,’ I think I was in a bit of shock as well that I actually realised and admitted to myself I was in that space.”