Understanding Loneliness

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Overthinking loves to see us withdraw from others.

Engage by taking a simple action toward a connection, even if it's just a first step.

The goal is to halt that second-guessing that creeps in and quietly sabotages our connections.

Loneliness is increasingly described as an epidemic. In 2023, the surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, warned that widespread loneliness and lack of social connection had become a national public health crisis. A key point from that advisory is that about 1 in 2 adults in the United States reported significant loneliness.

We often hear the usual culprits discussed, such as social media, remote work, fewer places that people congregate, and fewer close friendships. But what if how our brains internally process external interactions plays a huge role in our feelings of loneliness?

Overthinking Is a Huge Driver of Loneliness.

For many people I see, in my work as a psychologist, loneliness is not about people having too few connections or even relationships. It's about having a spinning mind that constantly second-guesses social opportunities and interactions.

For example, a forty-ish female........

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