Vivek Murthy

In this groundbreaking book, Murthy argues that loneliness is the underpinning to the current crisis in mental wellness and is responsible for the upsurge in suicide, the opioid epidemic, the overuse of psych meds, the over-diagnosing and pathologizing of emotional and psychological struggle. The good news is that social connection is innate and a cure for loneliness. In Together, the 19th Surgeon General will address the importance of community and connection and offer viable and actionable solutions to this overlooked epidemic.

Why Social Connection Holds the Key to Better Health, Higher Performance, and Greater Happiness

Together

Jessica Hsu

Loneliness was signaling, not accusing her. It was trying to help by reminding her just how vitally she needed to reconnect.

The overlap between physical and emotional pain in the brain sheds light on why people may reach for more powerful and dangerous substances - like opioid painkillers and alcohol - when they experience emotional pain from loneliness. With the opioid epidemic, in particular, we have increasingly appreciated the role emotional pain plays in driving use and overuse. Opioid deaths have been labeled deaths of despair for good reason.

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