Hello there!
(An invitation for those who may have questions for me: Please submit them through the contact section of this article. Emily and I will be responding to your questions in our upcoming podcasts! Our next podcasts will focus on character strengths and virtues, which form the foundation of positive psychology.)
Thom Hartmann’s Substack post (June 24, 2026) entitled “If Loneliness is Hunger, then it has a Remedy as Ordinary as a Meal” resonated with me as I navigate a transitional time in my life.
My kids are grown and independent, busily raising their young children. I moved to Stamford, CT, in September 2025, and am settling into a new (and friendly) neighborhood.
I can’t lie; as much as my weeks fly by with me busily stamping out mental illness, I knew that I had a problem with loneliness.
Between my divorce in 2012, leaving the Church I inherited from my parents in 2017 (eliminating an entire lifetime of a convenient, but not authentic, social network), the Pandemic, “kids” getting married and busy with infants, and missing the ACEP conference to attend a nephew’s wedding reception, etc., my social connections had shrunk to dangerously low levels.
For those who are married and actively participate in a Church community, life can still often feel lonely as one’s life diverges from one’s spouse. Loneliness is the difference between our need for social connection and what we actually have.
As I reflected on Hartmann’s article, I realized that I ought to work harder at making new friends, or the consequences of social isolation will have a greater negative impact on my health no matter how many vitamins or Energy Breaths I take.
This podcast was created because I wanted to focus on this topic and to encourage myself to take it seriously. I’m not preaching to you; I empathize with you.
Emily and I discuss the article and share our reflections on this issue because we have experienced, perhaps more than most people might guess, what it’s like to be alone, lonely, and isolated. At the same time, we know that it’s possible to build social networks, no matter how old one may be.
I’m proud to say that I took practical steps towards joining neighborhood gatherings and make new friends. It’s not easy to do as an introvert!
Recently, I went with a new friend to visit an iconic restaurant in Stamford and listened as she shared about her family and current circumstances. I enjoyed not being a psychiatrist, but just being me, as we chatted about life.
At the end of dinner, she said that if I ever wanted to visit Cove Island Park, we could go walking there on Sundays. Hooray! I tried not to appear too eager, but I will definitely take her up on it. I am curious about the park, and it would be doubly nice to explore it with someone who knows it well. I’m going to bring my camera and see if I can take some natural landscape photos and, of course, the birds!
I wish you success as you explore ways to build your social network too!
Articles on loneliness:
1. Surgeon General: We Have Become a Lonely Nation. It’s Time to Fix That. By Vivek H. Murthy, Surgeon General. New York Times. April 30, 2023.
2. Loneliness poses profound public health threat, surgeon general says. By Fenit Nirappil. May 2, 2023. Washington Post.
3. Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community by Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States. 2023.
4. If Loneliness is Hunger, then it has a Remedy as Ordinary as a Meal by Thom Hartmann, June 24, 2026.
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