How to Deal with Loneliness

There’s no question that having a support system and a sense of community is important as we get older. Face-to-face friendships matter. Study after study report that friendships are vital to longevity, and to our physical and mental health…

It starts as just another typical morning. After completing your regular daily chores, you sit down to enjoy your customary cup of coffee alongside your husband of 45 years. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he drops a bombshell. He turns to you and announces…

So, you are starting over on a new path and you are killing it! You are happy, you are fulfilled and you are living the life you have always dreamed of living. But, no matter how much you keep telling yourself how great your new life is, you are lonely…

I encountered loneliness in my late teens. Even though I was born into a large family and connected with friends through school and university, I felt the acute existential loneliness that comes with an inquiring mind…

When I think about these two states of being – loneliness and solitude – they have such different connotations. And yet the border between them is porous. If we are lonely, can we just decide that we can cross over into solitude? It seems a bit like the old fairy-tale about spinning straw into gold. […]

Most women in their 60s are headed for a solo future. Are you prepared for yours? Millions of people are finding themselves on their own as they head toward retirement. Some are solo by circumstance, others by choice. These partner-less pioneers…

A study of more than half a million people in the UK and Canada has linked social isolation to signs of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. More than a third of people worldwide over 50 live alone. In addition to the toll cited above, social isolation…

Loneliness is a funny thing; it can sneak up on you when you least expect it. Have you found that you’re not socializing as much at this point in your life? Maybe you’ve stepped away from your full-time job where people were only a fingertip away…

We can be sailing along just fine – independent, self-contained, pursuing our own interests, plenty of friends, regular contact with family members, and then boom! – the holidays come upon us and we feel like our ship starts to sink…

As the temperature drops and the nights draw in, many of us will be spending more time at home. While there are plenty of benefits to this, such as having cosy evenings snuggled up with a good film or more time to get stuck into home-based…