Social distancing has been especially hard on humans, as social animals we are wired for connection. But the coronavirus pandemic didn’t cause the isolation issue it just exacerbated it. In 2018, 28% of adult households in the U.S. were single person households and 63% of the adult population remained unmarried. But we are not happier, over 35% of adult Americans report themselves to be chronically lonely, up from 20% in 1990. J. W. Freiberg’s latest book _Surrounded by Others and Yet So Alone_ looks at the problem of chronic loneliness through his unique lens as a social psychologist (PhD, UCLA) turned lawyer (JD, Harvard). His case studies are infused with the latest brain science which reveals that loneliness is actually a sensation, like hunger or thirst, not an emotion like anger, which we can talk ourselves out of. So how do we surmount this current crisis and help to create healthy connections going forward, in our own lives and in the lives of our children? Image: Book Cover
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