How loneliness is killing us, according to a Harvard professor | Robert Waldinger
60% of people feel disconnected. Harvard professor Robert Waldinger addresses the science behind humanity’s loneliness epidemic and suggests ways to solve it.
Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ►
Up next, The friendship recession ►
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 ►
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Go Deeper with Big Think:
►Become a Big Think Member
Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more.
►Get Big Think for Business
Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
1 view
106
20
2 weeks ago 00:03:57 1
Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time (Official Video)
2 weeks ago 01:02:10 1
female loneliness and the catch-up friendship crisis
2 weeks ago 01:29:37 1
Professor Scott Galloway: Why Following Your Passion is Only For The Rich + What to Do Instead
2 weeks ago 00:03:55 1
Barbra Streisand - Woman in Love
2 weeks ago 00:03:10 1
YANN ZHANCHAK - Heritage ( Official music video )
2 weeks ago 00:05:57 1
Joe Lynn Turner – Tortured Soul (Official Music Video)
3 weeks ago 00:10:20 1
What No One Tells You About Christianity in Japan
3 weeks ago 00:02:47 1
Otis Redding - (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay (Official Music Video)
3 weeks ago 00:42:38 1
EXIT YOUR LAZY GIRL ERA & ENTER PRODUCTIVE GIRL ERA | getting your life back together before 2024
3 weeks ago 00:20:32 1
How to Deal With Loneliness
3 weeks ago 00:43:46 1
I AM 38 AND HAVE NO FRIENDS | Безумное ОДИНОЧЕСТВО в США | LONELINESS in USA
3 weeks ago 00:02:43 1
Steve Harrington | You’re On Your Own, Kid
3 weeks ago 00:03:56 1
Spektra “Freefall“ - Official Music Video
4 weeks ago 00:03:14 1
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield (Acoustic cover by Emily Linge)
4 weeks ago 00:12:25 1
How to actually ENJOY studying. | Motivation for Back to School! 📚
4 weeks ago 00:02:31 2
From souvenirs to souvenirs~Demis Roussos~piano cover Vard Grig
4 weeks ago 00:02:53 1
From souvenirs to souvenirs piano
4 weeks ago 01:00:48 1
BOX SET: 6 Minute English - Emotional Wellbeing English mega-class! One hour of new vocabulary!
4 weeks ago 00:05:08 1
SOLITUDE. Одиночество Beautiful romantic love song. Music Alexander Volchenko, lyrics Maria Shadrina
4 weeks ago 00:04:09 1
Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do | Max Oazo & Camishe Cover
4 weeks ago 00:47:41 1
Blade and Bath - Rotten in Loneliness (Full Album)
1 month ago 00:43:56 1
Selbst - Despondency Chord Progressions (Full album)
1 month ago 00:59:58 1
Baby One More Time by Tenacious D 1 HOUR PERFECT LOOP
1 month ago 01:43:57 1
The Longevity Expert: “The Link Between Milk & Cancer & Ozempic Can Really Mess You Up!“