Viveg found that people were surprisingly willing to talk openly about their struggles with things like obesity and addiction, but loneliness not so much. There was a sense that if you admitted you were lonely, that somehow you were not likable, or that you were deficient in some way. The evidence suggests that we also need a variety of social interactions to stay healthy and avoid loneliness. Some of those can be shallow and fleeting; others need to be lasting and more intimate.
Loneliness is a far more common and far more serious problem than we think. It affects one in five Americans, and takes a toll on our bodies and minds. To thrive we need to several types of social interactions - both casual and more intimate.
With the help of US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy; Harvard Divinity School fellow Casper ter Kuile; and friendship expert Marisa Franco; Dr Laurie Santos looks at how loneliness might be affecting you or someone you know, and what science-back steps you can take to increase your circle of friends.
For further reading:
Vivek Murthy - Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World.
Marisa Franco - Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends as an Adult.
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