Loneliness is distress caused by a person’s lack of warm personal relationships with other people. Loneliness causes people to feel empty, alone, unwanted, left out, and that nobody cares about them. This lack of warm personal relationships can increase anxiety, risk of stroke, heart disease, dementia, and cognitive decline.. Unlike depression or anxiety, loneliness is not a mental health disorder which can be treated with medication—there is no pill for loneliness. Rather, loneliness is a state of mind, and it can only be treated by cultivating warm personal relationships. So, if you know someone who lives alone, especially if they are recently divorced or widowed, check in on them. Call them, visit them, take them to lunch or for a drive, and encourage your friends to do the same. While there is no magic pill for loneliness, this is how it’s cured!

One Sentence Wisdom

• “A good life depends on the strength of our relationships with family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and strangers.” — David Lammy
• “We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found that the answer is community.” — Dorothy Day

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