Loneliness and Its Consequences

Lonelyness increases our risk of anxiety and depression, but also our risk of premature death. Loneliness is comparable to the mortality impact of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It's even greater than the mortality impact that we see with obesity and with substance use disorders. We evolved to need each other and to depend on one another because it turned out that we could do far more together than we could do alone.