I entered my first real relationship in the 7th grade (I know—young) and stayed in this relationship until my freshman year of college. I’ll do the math for you: this relationship took up roughly six years of my life. In other words, at the age of 18, I had spent…
When we feel disconnected and isolated from others, loneliness can start to take hold. Loneliness is a natural but emotionally and physically intense response to feeling disconnected from other people. That said, even when we’re surrounded by others, it’s still possible to wrestle with loneliness. Loneliness has an intrinsic connection…
Spending time alone can be a blissful way to recharge our batteries when we feel our social energy levels starting to dip low. We all need some alone time every now and then—but when being alone becomes our daily default mode, the benefits of solitude disappear. And then loneliness sets…
Quick Summary A new study “A prefrontal-paraventricular thalamus circuit requires juvenile social experience to regulate adult sociability in mice” suggests that social isolation in childhood has a harmful impact on adult brain functioning and more specifically, in an area of the brain that’s responsible for regulating social behavior. In addition…
Click here to schedule online counseling at Thriveworks. Hi, I’m Rebecca Fry and I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor at Thriveworks. I was just popping on to say, are you lonely yet? In the light of this COVID-19 scare, a lot of us have been told to isolate, to withdraw, to…
How are you feeling right now? If we were to guess, you’d probably say you’re doing okay. And while that might be true, it’s probably also true that you’re struggling with anxiety, stress, feelings of loneliness, and/or other difficult feelings. Due to the spread of COVID-19 and our efforts to…
Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, many of us are on lockdown. We’re self-isolating, which means we’re staying home and avoiding all unnecessary contact with others. Some of us are fortunate enough to have roommates, be it a friend, family member, or significant other, with whom we can spend…
Amid COVID-19, many of us are experiencing feelings of loneliness, as we’re spending significantly less time with our friends, family, and others—and video chat only goes so far. Overcoming these lonely feelings is crucial to the state of your mental health, but doing so during social distancing is tough; this…
A recent report from the AARP Foundation found that more than 1/3 of adults over the age of 45 are lonely. The majority of these individuals reported being physically isolated or having small social networks. These findings are alarming, as loneliness and social isolation are associated with various health issues,…
Mental illness is more common in people who live alone. This, according to researchers from University of Versailles. This study analyzed data from 20,500 individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 who completed National Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys. Data included weight, height, level of social support, feelings of loneliness, and…
Those who are in loving relationships often enjoy Valentine’s Day, while single individuals pity themselves for, well, being single. If you fall into the latter group, you can break this cycle of feeling sad and lonely on Valentine’s Day by learning to love your solitude and also working toward finding…
Counselors are seeing a rise in young people seeking counseling for depression. One reason so many young people are dealing with depression is because they’re socially isolated thanks to increasing social media use. The good news is that while this problem is concerning, it can be corrected: we can take…
