Psych Basics

Loneliness
Social Isolation

What makes us happiest in life? Some people may point to fabulous fame and fortune. But, hands down, surveys show that friends and family are the real prize. Yet even though our need to connect is innate, some of us always go home alone. You may have people around you throughout the day or you may even be in a lifelong marriage, yet you may feel a deep down loneliness. Not surprisingly, isolation can affect one's mental and physical health to great detriment.

Only the Lonely

Epidemic of Loneliness

Loneliness is far more than a social misfortune.

by John T. Cacioppo, Ph.D. in Loneliness

Canine Friends to the End

Dogs provide emotional comfort, even to someone facing death.

by Stanley Coren, Ph.D. in Canine Corner

The Healing Identity

Overcoming emotional pain requires a healing identity.

by Steven Stosny in Anger in the Age of Entitlement

Pets Are People, Too

How pets relieve loneliness.

by Carlin Flora in Brainstorm

The American Psyche: Tipping Toward Solitude?

I'm never bored when I'm alone.

by Bella DePaulo, Ph.D. in Living Single

Imaginary Friends: Any in Your House?

Do only children have more imaginary friends?

by Susan Newman, Ph.D. in Singletons

Easing Your Way Out of Loneliness

What can be done to escape the grips of loneliness?

by John T. Cacioppo, Ph.D. in Loneliness

Social Isolation "Worsens Cancer"

Not feeling good? Call someone.

by Melinda Blau in Consequential Strangers

Dimensions of Human Connection: People, Pets, and Prayers

Humans draw upon diverse sources for relationship opportunities.

by John T. Cacioppo, Ph.D. in Loneliness

Social Isolation: A Modern Plague

Social Isolation: A Modern Plague.

by Stephen Ilardi, Ph.D. in The Depression Cure

What Is Solitude?

Why one restores and the other destroys our mental health.

by Hara Estroff Marano

See Also

Loneliness Tests

Communication Skills

Are delivering your message loud and clear?
Coping Skills

How well do you react to rough times?
Social Anxiety

Is anxiety getting the best of you?
More Tests

The Latest on Loneliness

Singlism is unacceptable in your therapist – even if you want to be coupled. by Bella DePaulo, Ph.D.
Recovery is the ability to tolerate your feelings by Claudia Black, Ph.D.
Intimacy, by its very nature, requires us to be vulnerable by Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D.
Affairs make mediation more challenging but not impossible. by Sam Margulies
What being bullied taught me about friendship by Lynne Soraya
Not feeling good? Call someone. by Melinda Blau
When adolescence begins parents lose their child as endearing "child." by Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D.
The many readings of a single life by Bella DePaulo, Ph.D.
Why is it so hard to give and get empathy? by Jane Bolton, Psy.D., M.F.T., C.C.
Alain de Botton started a bookstore that offers psychotherapy. by Ilana Simons, Ph.D.

Loneliness Blogs

  • John Cacioppo

    Loneliness

    The need for social connection.
    By John Cacioppo, Ph.D.

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