Loneliness
Find out where joy resides and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all - Robert Louis Stevenson
image by: jordache
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Looking Loneliness in the Face
Professor Elaine Bernal was halfway through grading the stack of 50+ final exams, when she came across the one that set itself apart from the rest. "Please don't waste your time grading this," said the note at the bottom of the first page, "as I am not in your class! I just did not want to be lonely. So I decided to take it."
Everyone knows what it is to be lonely. Even in a crowded public place, in a marriage, in a house full of siblings, one can feel lonely, disconnected, as if there's no-one else there. It's a price inherent to being the only one looking out at the world through your eyes.
Loneliness not only feels bad, it can be damaging. A March 2015 Time magazine…
Resources
On-Demand Grandkids and Robot Pals to Keep Senior Loneliness at Bay
Devices and services that facilitate—and in some cases replace—human contact are attracting insurers looking to combat an ever-more lethal crisis of loneliness.
Those Who Travel Solo Are Not Alone
I treasure my ability to travel alone, to be unafraid to get up and go without relying on others. Even so, it’s a bittersweet independence: in my strive for freedom, I risk convincing myself that I don’t need people - when I really do. As much as I love traveling solo, many of my best memories are precious precisely because they are shared. Every person I’ve met in my journey has served a purpose. Without them, my travels would be reduced to a sterile collection of sightseeing tickets and beautiful photos. Don’t I feel alone traveling solo? Sometimes. But I’m never truly alone. It is one matter to say it, and wholly another to see it.
All the Lonely People
Lonely people have a natural affinity for the internet. It's always there waiting, patient, flexible, suitable for every mood. But there are times when the net reminds me of the definition of a bore by Meyer the hairy economist, best friend of Travis McGee: "You know what a bore is, Travis. Someone who deprives you of solitude without providing you with companionship."
Neuroscientists pinpoint brain cells that represent loneliness
The team now hope to study whether the neurons simply detect loneliness or are responsible for it, and also hope to explore whether differences in the neurons are responsible for different levels in sociability.
New Research on Overcoming Loneliness
New research finds the brains of lonely people respond more negatively to social stimuli
So Lonely It Hurts
Among the lonely, the areas of their brains related to attention lit up much more quickly than those of the other subjects when they saw words related to social isolation like ‘‘excluded,’’ ‘‘foe’’ and ‘‘detached’’ than when they saw generally negative words like ‘‘frustrated’’ and ‘‘vomit.’’ Their brains were also far less engaged by words with a positive connotation compared with those of the socially connected volunteers.
The First Step To Banishing Loneliness — For Good
To overcome this sadness and loneliness, Herrera say it’s crucial to recognize the truth about this negative feeling and stop fooling yourself about what it can offer.
Looking Loneliness in the Face
Everyone knows what it is to be lonely. Even in a crowded public place, in a marriage, in a house full of siblings, one can feel lonely, disconnected, as if there's no-one else there. It's a price inherent to being the only one looking out at the world through your eyes.
Campaign to End Loneliness
The Campaign to End Loneliness inspires thousands of organisations and people to do more to tackle the health threat of loneliness in older age. The Campaign to End Loneliness is a network of national, regional and local organisations and people working together through community action, good practice, research and policy to ensure that loneliness is acted upon as a public health priority at national and local levels.
The Lonely Blog
The Web of Loneliness Institute, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization aimed at increasing awareness of loneliness and its negative effects, conducting cutting edge research to improve our understanding of loneliness, and developing and disseminating effective loneliness intervention programs.
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