60% of people feel disconnected. Harvard professor Robert Waldinger addresses the science behind humanity’s loneliness epidemic and suggests ways to solve it.

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Loneliness is quietly spreading across our society. Robert Waldinger, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, explores the roots of this growing epidemic.

He draws on research by experts like Julianne Holt-Lunstad, revealing the severe health impacts of loneliness, equating it to smoking half a pack of cigarettes daily. Stress, accelerated brain decline, and overall well-being suffer, but the remedy lies in our relationships—with friends, family, and even casual encounters.

Waldinger shares practical steps to combat loneliness, encouraging everyday connections with individuals like the person who delivers the mail or the cashier at the grocery store.

You belong. You matter. You're connected.

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/great-que...

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About Robert Waldinger:

Dr. Robert Waldinger is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Center for Psychodynamic Therapy and Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. He is a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, he teaches Harvard medical students and psychiatry residents, and he is on the faculty of the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute. He is also a Zen priest.

Dr. Waldinger earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and his MD from Harvard Medical School.