January 31, 2025
by Elizabeth Pratt
People aged 50 and older find with poor or fair health are twice as likely to report not having any close friends.
Data from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found that friends can play a key role for people over the age of 50, but that those with mental or physical health problems can experience challenges in this area.
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December 18, 2024
by Elizabeth Pratt
Feeling lonely has a greater impact on sleep for college students than too much screen time.
Research from Oregon State University found that students with high levels of loneliness were more likely to have difficulties sleeping compared with less lonely students, regardless of their level of screen time.
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December 11, 2024
by Elizabeth Pratt
More than 33% of people aged between 50 to 80 feel lonely.
Loneliness and isolation among this group has mostly returned to pre pandemic levels, but remains high.
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January 31, 2023
by Elizabeth Pratt
Receiving support from others could help ease the impact from genetic risk for depression.
Researchers from the University of Michigan found that individuals with a high genetic risk for developing depression most benefit from a nurturing social environment.
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September 22, 2020
by Elizabeth Pratt
Teenagers experienced less anxiety and felt more connection to school during lock down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A study from the University of Bristol examined how 1000 teenagers across 17 schools in the South West of England coped during lockdown when they weren’t attending school in person.
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April 27, 2020
by Elizabeth Pratt
Health authorities have emphasised the importance of social distancing to keep the community safe from COVID19, but for some, the social isolation can be challenging.
But new research from the University of Buffalo suggests that there are other ways of fulfilling social needs without being physically close to others.
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April 2, 2015
by Joan Childs,LCSW
We now know that one of the chief causes of addiction is lack of connection. It has been documented by Johann Hari in his recent publication, The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think (Hari, 2015) that after many studies and research, the primary cause of addiction is a lack of bonding. When this occurs, human beings go into crisis. (Buber, 1958). When this happens before the developmental stages reach adulthood, the chronicity of loneliness becomes a set up for addiction. Hence, the drama begins.
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Intimacy is one of the most important facets of a relationship. It is the connection and bond formed between two individuals; and the deeper the connection and bond, the higher the intimacy. In a relationship, intimacy can be experienced both emotionally and physically. When it comes to sex, some believe the act of sex creates deeper intimacy, whereas others feel that intimacy leads to sex.
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March 11, 2014
by Casey Truffo, LMFT
When you first got married, the thrill and anticipation of learning about someone new kept the flame alive. There were so many new experiences for the two of you to delve into as a couple that boredom or mundane routine was the last thing on your mind. Fast-forward a few years and what was once an exciting experience has now come close to being an “obligated responsibility”. Your life is routine, and it seems that you have learned everything there is to know about your spouse.
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