In recent years, loneliness has transformed from a private, personal experience into a full blown public health crisis. Studies have repeatedly shown that loneliness and social isolation increase the risk of premature death, dementia, and all sorts of mental illnesses. In this episode, Jeremy Noble, MD shares how he is combating our national crisis of loneliness by fostering connection through art and storytelling. Dr. Noble is the founder of the Foundation for Arts and Healing, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School, and the author of the 2023 book Project UnLonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection. 

Over the course of our conversation, we discuss Dr. Noble's unique path to arts and medicine, the three types of loneliness—social, emotional, and existential, what meaningful social connection looks like, and the healing power of creativity.

In this episode, we discuss: 

2:08 - Dr. Nobel’s journey to becoming a “public health practitioner” and the personal meaning that the has found in his work

5:44 - The issues that Dr. Nobel is most interested in addressing within public health

7:03 - How Dr. Nobel found his way to the arts and humanities

14:21 - The benefits available at the intersection of the arts and medicine

16:09 - The mission of the Foundation for Art and Healing and Project UnLonely

22:26 - The definition of “loneliness” and the importance of loneliness literacy 

24:19 - The “pyramid of vulnerability” for loneliness 

27:10 - Evolutionary reasons for loneliness and how those are exacerbated today

34:19 - The three types of loneliness

38:20 - How we can cultivate a culture of connection in a society that has grown to distrust people and institutions 

42:24 - What public health agencies should do to better prepare our society to reckon with loneliness 

44:11 - The importance of addressing the loneliness inherent in medical training

Dr. Nobel is the author of Project UnLonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection(2023).

Learn more about Project UnLonely and The Foundation for Art & Healing: www.artandhealing.org.

Dr. Nobel can be found on Twitter/X @JeremyNobel1.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2023