Loneliness is not simply being alone.

Surgeon General Issues Advisory on Loneliness and Announces Social Connection As Current Priority 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Surgeon General | May 2023
Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy, released an advisory on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation facing our country, the destructive impacts it has on our collective health, and the extraordinary healing power of relationships.  
More

Surgeon General: We’ve Become a Lonely Nation. It’s Time to Fix That.  
New York Times | May 2023
At any moment, about one out of every two Americans is experiencing measurable levels of loneliness. This includes introverts and extroverts, rich and poor, and younger and older Americans. Sometimes loneliness is set off by the loss of a loved one or a job, a move to a new city, or health or financial difficulties – or a once-in-a-century-pandemic.
More

Family Caregivers Provide $600 Billion in Unpaid Care Across the U.S. 
AARP | March 2023
Across the United States, an estimated 38 million people, about 11.5% of the population, are taking care of loved ones in 2023. That care will total nearly 36 billion hours with a value of nearly $600 billion. Family caregivers are the backbone of the long-term care system in the U.S. [with] over 60 percent of family caregivers working either full-time or part-time — and 30 percent living with a child or grandchild.
More

Social Isolation and Loneliness Linked in Older Adults
Physicians Weekly | November 2022
A strong link between memory loss and social isolation in older adults indicates a need to create interventions to reduce isolation and to evaluate its effects on potential memory loss, according to a study published in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. David M. Mosen, PhD, MPH, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional, observational study of 46,240 Medicare recipients aged 65and older who completed a health questionnaire.
More

 

Surprising Differences between Lonely Women and Lonely Men
PsychCentral | October 2022
It’s certainly true that men and women handle negative emotional states differently. When things aren’t going well in a woman’s life, she tends to interpret it as depression. When a man doesn’t feel good about himself, he tends to express it as anger.
More

How Loneliness Could Be Costing Your Business Success, And What To Do
Forbes | August 2022
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. This proverb summarizes the conundrum many entrepreneurs face. But working long hours and doing whatever it takes to make your business successful isn’t always conducive to spending time with other people. Human connection, however, brings tangible benefits and shouldn’t be ignored.
More

Watch: A conversation on the nation’s mental health crisis, with a view from Chicago
Axios | July 2022
Vivek H. Murthy explained the urgency of executing on mental health solutions in the U.S., the factors that are driving the youth mental health crisis.
More

Childhood Loneliness Linked to Stress and Problem Drinking in Young Adults
Neuroscience News | July 2022
Children who experience loneliness before the age of 12 are more likely to experience stress in early adulthood which leads to an increased risk of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.
More

The Ways Loneliness Could Be Changing Your Brain and Body
CNET | July 2022
People were already lonely before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Before COVID-19 stranded folks at home and made getting close to others an unnerving experience, researchers were realizing Americans were lonelier than ever.
More

Study shows tech-based program improves workers’ mental health, productivity
MedCity News | June 2022
Employers are spending millions of dollars on programs to improve the mental well-being of their employees, though it’s not always clear how well the programs are working. A new peer-reviewed study is showing that at least one program is making a difference.
More

Loneliness Is a Public Health Emergency. Here’s What Helps, According to Experts
Time | June 2022
Experts have found that the pandemic did make Americans slightly more lonely—but loneliness levels were already dire enough to pose a threat to mental and physical health. Here’s what you need to know about loneliness and how to address it in your own life.
More

New research from Mencap reveals widespread loneliness with almost a third of people with a learning disability struggling with their mental health and many unable to find support
Mencap | Politics.co.uk | May 2022
Mencap urges the Government to provide good quality, post-pandemic community support to prevent further social isolation and declining mental health.
More

People in debt are more lonely now than during the lockdown, charity warns
Rebecca Paveley | Church Times | May 2022
PEOPLE in debt are suffering rising levels of loneliness and isolation as the cost-of-living squeeze hits, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has warned.
More

Young People Are Lonelier Than Ever
Nana Baah | Vice | April 2022
30 percent say they don’t know how to make new friends and they’ve never felt more alone.
More

Young people hit hardest by loneliness and depression during Covid-19
William A. Haseltine | Forbes | April 2021
A CDC online survey indicates that young people between the ages of 18-24 are more likely to suffer mental health problems during the pandemic than any age group.
More

A Rising Tally of Lonely Deaths on the Streets
Thomas Fuller | NY Times | April 2022
More than ever it has become deadly to be homeless in America, especially for men in their 50s and 60s.
More

What Does The UCLA Loneliness Scale Mean For My Life?
Danni Peck, Laura Angers NCC, LPC | Better Help | Aprli 2022
The UCLA Loneliness Scale is designed to help you understand how you feel about loneliness and social isolation and there’s a lot more too.
More

An Overview Of Chronic Loneliness
Samantha Dewitt | Better Help | April 2022
Interactions with other human beings are important to having a healthy, whole, and happy life. But what can you do if you’ve been isolated or have felt lonely for an extended time, even years?
More

Lonely Science: Women and early-career scientists in academia were among those hardest hit by COVID-19 disruptions
Swati Agrawal, Marilee Benore and Pamela Mertz | ASBMBTODAY | March 2022
While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the professional and personal lives of scientists, some groups were affected more than others.
More

Alone and lonely: The economic cost of solitude
Chiara Burlina, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose | Vox | December 2021
Western countries are facing an ‘epidemic of solitude’. Though its impact on mental health has attracted considerable attention, little is known about its economic effects. Though the relationship is complex and non-linear, a region with more lonely people will experience lower aggregate economic growth.
More

Loneliness during coronavirus
The Mental Health Foundation | The Mental Health Foundation | December 2021
Millions of us have felt lonely during the coronavirus pandemic. As we work together to stay safe and save lives, we may find ourselves spending less time with family, friends or familiar faces – especially if we’re shielding or self-isolating.
More

A growing share of teens feels lonely at school
Kathryn Hulick | Science News for Students | November 2021
Data from kids in 37 nations links this to use of cell phones and the internet.
More

Why loneliness is increasing, and how to fight back
Morgan Sweeney | Popular Science | September 2021
Overcoming America’s invisible health crisis.
More

The Pandemic of Loneliness: “Stories that caught our attention”
Avram Goldstein | California Health Care Foundation | August 2021
In this extraordinary era of pandemic isolation, social distancing, and masking, it makes perfect sense that loneliness and its impact on mental and physical health would garner literary attention.
More

Over 65 and Lonely? Don’t Talk to Your Doctor About Another Prescription
Suzanne Leigh | UCSF | July 2021
‘Social Prescribing’ May Mean Seniors Avoid Harmful Sedatives, Painkillers, UCSF Study Suggests
More

Covid: Loneliness a ‘bigger health risk than smoking or obesity’
Catherine Evans | BBC News | June 2021
NHS prescriptions for gardening and dancing are “vitally needed” to help tackle rising levels of loneliness after lockdown, people suffering from isolation have said.
More

Loneliness and Social Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions
CDC | CDC | April 2021
Loneliness and social isolation in older adults are serious public health risks affecting a significant number of people in the United States and putting them at risk for dementia and other serious medical conditions.
More

Loneliness won’t end when the pandemic ends
Maria Morava and Scott Andrew | CNN | April 2021
Whether people who are lonely have too few relationships or not enough deep bonds with others, loneliness has dire health outcomes across the board.
More

Young adults hardest hit by loneliness during pandemic
Colleen Walsh | Harvard Gazette | February 2021
Robust social network is key to easing pain, avoiding downward spiral, study says
More

Social Isolation and Loneliness: Imperatives for Health Care in a Post-COVID World
Eve Escalante, MSW, LCSW1; Robyn L. Golden, MA, LCSW1; Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN2 | Jama Network | February 2021
Social determinants of health have been found to be responsible for 80% to 90% of health outcomes, and an abundance of research has demonstrated that no matter the advancements in medicine and health care, the health of individuals and communities will not improve if these root-cause social factors are not addressed.
More

The Loneliness Pandemic
Jacob Sweet | Harvard Magazine | February 2021
The psychology and social costs of isolation in everyday life
More

Scientists show what loneliness looks like in the brain
McGill University | Science Daily | December 2020
A new study shows a sort of signature in the brains of lonely people that make them distinct in fundamental ways, based on variations in the volume of different brain regions as well as based on how those regions communicate with one another across brain networks.
More

Loneliness in youth could impact mental health over the long term
Elsevier | Science Daily | November 2020
The review, which synthesizes over 60 pre-existing, peer-reviewed studies on topics spanning isolation, loneliness and mental health for young people aged between 4 and 21 years of age, found extensive evidence of an association between loneliness and an increased risk of mental health problems for children and young people.
More

Pandemic Has Created Loneliness Epidemic, New Report Shows
Michelle Davis | AARP | October 2020
AARP Foundation and United Health Foundation survey finds older adults more at risk.
More

In The Midst Of The Pandemic, Loneliness Has Leveled Out
Kasey Killam | Scientific American | August 2020
Studies suggest that we are finding ways to connect even amid quarantine.
More

The science behind why social isolation can make you lonely
Polina Marinova Pompliano | The Profile | May 2020
I caught up with Laura to discuss America’s loneliness epidemic, why solitude can help us regulate our emotions, and what we can do in our everyday lives to preserve a sense of meaning and connection.
More

COVID-19 is making America’s loneliness epidemic even worse
Jamie Ducharme | Time Magazine | May 2020
Experts are rightly concerned about the mental health ramifications of this widespread isolation, especially since there’s no agreed-upon tipping point at which acute loneliness transitions into a chronic problem with long-term consequences.
More

How the Coronavirus Pandemic Fuels America’s Loneliness Epidemic
John Williams | U.S. News & World Report | April 2020
Isolation and loneliness are already huge health-related problems among older adults. Social distancing is poised to make those problems worse.
More

Loneliness and its impact on the American workplace
Cigna Report | March 2020
Cigna’s loneliness research shows that loneliness is a multifaceted issue with multiple drivers, including a lack of social support, too few meaningful social interactions, poor physical and mental health, and a lack of balance in our lives.
More

80 people went to Dallas emergency rooms 5,139 time in a year – usually because they were lonely
Teresa Woodard | WFAA ABC | May 2019
Once they determined who those high utilizers were, it was time to get back to why they keep coming in. That research led to a painful reality: the cause for most of the repeat visits is loneliness.
More

Loneliness costs the US almost $7 billion extra each year
Corinne Purtill | Quartz | October 2018
Social isolation takes a heavy toll on those who suffer from it, both in health and overall well-being. An effort to quantify the cost of loneliness in the US also found that among Americans aged 65 or older, social isolation costs the US government nearly $7 billion in additional health care costs per year.
More

Loneliness and social connections: A national survey of adults 45 and older
G. Oscar Anderson, Colette E. Thayer | AARP Foundation | September 2018
The national survey of 3,020 midlife and older adults was designed to get a current snapshot of loneliness and how it relates to social isolation factors.
More

New Evidence for the Necessity of Loneliness
Quanta Magazine | May 2016
A specific set of neurons deep in the brain may motivate us to seek company, holding social species together.
More

The science of loneliness
Robin Marantz Henig | Psychology Today | April 2014
…lonely people are impaired in their ability to control their emotions, make decisions, and interact with people. Ironically, the lonelier people were, the less well they functioned with others.
More

Biology of loneliness
Loneliness NZ | The Loneliness New Zealand Charitable Trust
Loneliness is part of our biology. With social and environmental triggers, it produces psychological (and physical) responses that affect behaviour and our wellbeing. To understand the biology of loneliness, we need to consider loneliness in terms of evolution, genetics and neurology.
More