A number of recent studies point to an epidemic of loneliness in our country – with significant health and social impacts. A recent AARP foundation report found that 35% of people over 45 are lonely. Another report commissioned by CIGNA, found that almost half of those 18-22 years old feel lonely. What does it mean to be lonely? How does it differ from solitude? And what can be done to help?
Guests
Jeffrey J. Aalberg, MD, family medicine, Maine Health
Jeanette Andonian, MSW, Ph.D., LCSW, associate professor, director, School of Social Work, University of Southern Maine
Lenard Kaye (by phone), professor of social work, University of Maine; director of UMaine Center on Aging
Meghan Reedy (by phone), program officer, Maine Humanities Council
Resources
- Maine Humanities Council Dorothy Schwartz Forum: "Who Is We?"
- New York Times: Advice From a Formerly Lonely College Student
- New Cigna Study Reveals Loneliness at Epidemic Levels in America
- Psychology Today:Treating Loneliness: It's More Than Just Meeting Others
- New Yorker: Between Solitude and Loneliness
- Psychology Today: 7 Types of Loneliness, and Why It Matters
- Vivek Murthy: How To Solve The Work Loneliness Epidemic
- UMaine Center on Aging Senior Companion Program
- AARP Connect2Affect
- A Place to StartIn Kennebunk (for Alzheimers and Dementia families)