"Take The Pledge"
By AMY HARMON- New York Times
In the first concentrated study of the social and psychological effects of Internet use at home, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found that people who spend even a few hours a week online experience higher levels of depression and loneliness than they would have if they used the computer [...]
Article by: Hara Estroff Marano – Psychology Today
Friendship is a lot like food. We need it to survive. What is more, we seem to have a basic drive for it. Psychologists find that human beings have fundamental need for inclusion in group life and for close relationships. We are truly social animals.
The upshot is, [...]
Dr. Robert Sapolsky spent years studying stress in baboons.
Stressed out? There’s no app for that, but soon enough there might be a vaccine.
Dr Robert Sapolsky, a neuroscience professor at Stanford, says after 30 years of studying stress, his team might be on the verge of a novel cure.
“To be honest, I’m still amazed [...]
“As far as I am concerned, the greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved. The greatest suffering is also having no one, forgetting what an intimate, truly human relationship is, not knowing what it means to be loved, not having a family or friends.” “Loneliness is the world’s biggest problem; more people die [...]
Gail Sheehy
“Passages in Caregiving” The Diane Rehm Show – WAMU & NPR
Thursday, May 13, 2010 – 11:06 a.m.
More than 50 million Americans are caring for a spouse, parent or relative who has a serious illness. Author and journalist Gail Sheehy identifies eight crucial stages of caregiving, drawing on her experience caring for her husband, [...]
ScienceDaily (Feb. 15, 2009) — Social isolation affects how people behave as well as how their brains operate, a study at the University of Chicago shows.
The research, presented February 15 at a symposium, “Social Emotion and the Brain,” at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the first to [...]
From MSN- March 4, 2012
A pet bird decides to feed the family dog some noodles for dinner… the dog always has to take the bigger piece though! See it here: http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/dog-and-bird-share-noodles/1jr032e4l
People who are lonely are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, a large US study has suggested.
From: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64(2):234-240.
A total of 823 older persons free of dementia at enrollment were recruited from senior citizen facilities in and around Chicago, Ill. Loneliness was assessed with a 5-item scale at baseline (mean ± SD, 2.3 [...]
After their three young children were killed in a horrific car accident, Chris and Lori Coble experienced the stages of grief at different times. Do you know someone in mourning? Find out the cliche you should never say if you want to offer comfort.
“Time dosen’t heal anything. It is what you do with the [...]
Hopkins cardiologist Ilan Wittstein, M.D
Shocking news, such as learning of the unexpected death of a loved one, has been known to cause catastrophic events, such as a heart attack.
Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that sudden emotional stress can also result in severe but reversible heart muscle weakness that mimics a classic heart [...]
By Laurie Stoneham
November 4, 2006
You know the scene. It looks so warm and cozy and loving. The large, smiling family is gathered around an exquisitely laid-out table, brimming with beautifully prepared food. All of this is playing out against the backdrop of a roaring fire and holiday trimmings.
You’ve seen the same image portrayed [...]
Married 61 Years
1. Try Everything Twice
On one woman’s tombstone
she said she wanted this epitaph:
“Tried everything twice. Loved it both
times!”
2. Keep Only Cheerful Friends.
The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)
3. Keep Learning:
Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever…
Never let the brain get idle. ‘An [...]
Book Review: Dr.Izzo’s Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die
Dr. John Izzo’s Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die (Berrett-Koehler, January 2007) is based on his highly acclaimed television series airing on Rogers in Canada and PBS in the U.S. He is also [...]
Loneliness can be one of the most difficult feelings to shake, and if not checked, can become a destructive force, even leading to suicide. Yet no one can escape feeling lonely and it is something that faith alone cannot completely remedy. All people, whether married, single, priest, or consecrated religious will inevitably feel lonely at [...]
June 25, 2010
From: Fresh Air & WHYY- NPR
Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128086851
Dan Gottlieb hosts a mental-health call-in radio show on WHYY. In 1979, was in a near-fatal car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
Family therapist and call-in radio host Dan Gottlieb has helped many [...]
Video: See the incredible bond that forms between a female lion & a wildlife cameraman in this clip from “Wild Kingdom.” Click here for video: Animal Planet’s ‘Wild Kingdom.’
Article by: Ramond Johnson – About.com
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to the Massachusetts 2006 Youth Risk Survey. A 2007 San Francisco State University Chavez Center Institute study shows that lgbt and questioning youth who come from a rejecting [...]
Joan Bakewell: Commentary© Times Newspapers Ltd 2011
Registered office 3 Thomas More Square, London E98 1XY.
Registered in England No 894646
December 31, 2009
Loneliness is an inner, gnawing pain born of circumstance and inertia, verging on despair. There is a higher risk the older you get, and no one talks about it. In this all-laughing, twittering [...]
“Is online social networking socially enhancing or socially isolating?”
Article by: Stella Lau, U.C. Berkeley Edu.
“…man cannot live without attachment to some object which transcends and survives him…he is too little…we have no other object than ourselves we cannot avoid the thought that our efforts will finally end in nothingness, since we ourselves disappear” (Durkheim [...]
Fast Tube by Casper
Wonderful example of innocence and the joy of children. Remember to laugh often, smile everyday and believe that the best things in life are free. We have a lot to learn from children! Every time I watch it, I can’t help but laugh. Good for your health too! Enjoy this popular video from: http://www.youtube.com -Richard
Dr. Leo Buscaglia was the author of books such as Living, Loving and Learning and Born for Love, he was a renowned lecturer, and University of Southern California professor.
Dr. Buscaglia touched untold numbers of people with his insights into how we seek happiness and create loving relationships.
He wrote more than a dozen [...]
Relationships improve your odds of survival by 50 percent
A new Brigham Young University study adds our social relationships to the “short list” of factors that predict a person’s odds of living or dying.
In the journal PLoS Medicine, BYU professors Julianne Holt-Lunstad and Timothy Smith report that social connections – friends, family, neighbors [...]
January 10, 2011 From: NPR – Talk of The Nation
From Confucius to Oprah, people have preached compassion for centuries. But how often is it put into practice? Karen Armstrong believes religion, which should advocate for compassionate living, is often part of the problem. In Twelve Steps To A Compassionate Life, she describes ways to [...]
Studio Brussel: K’s Choice – When I lay beside you (Music For Life 2009)
Who is important in your life? Powerful message through music and images. Best Wishes, Richard.
You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL6yKSDsOiY
Answer both questions before scrolling down.
Question 1
If you knew a woman who was pregnant, had eight children already – three were deaf, two were blind and one mentally retarded and she also has syphilis, would you recommend she have an abortion???
Question 2
It is time to elect a new world leader and your vote counts. Here are the facts [...]
By: Linton Weeks - May 12, 2009
Richard Restak says research shows that the brain responds to stretching and challenging exercises in every stage of life.
Don Farral/Getty Images-An MRI scan of a man’s brain.
Nowadays, some scientists say, you can exercise your brain the way you exercise your body.
If you sleep more, eat less and get plenty of [...]
Many disabled individuals feel lonely, isolated and marginalized…
Changing this reality takes an awareness and desire to strive for an innate equality for all people regardless the limitations. And, when you really think about it, we all have abilities and disabilities that may be hidden or visible.
In my profession I was fortunate to have [...]
International arrivals at London/Heathrow - watch arriving passengers be given a welcome home to remember. Reconnecting with the people we love, miss and need is timeless. Best Wishes – Richard
P.S. Thanks Kevin and Dianne for sending me this wonderful link and video from youtube.
Watch video here at Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo&feature=player_embedded
Article by: Richard @ AlonelyWorld.Com
How does a prosperous society create widespread loneliness when we should all be happy and contented? I believe an important factor contributing to our loneliness is American culture — our greatest export to the world. Think American films, Hollywood celebrities, MTV, Philip Morris, Boeing jetliners, Coco Cola, Nike, Apple computers … etc. We export both the best and worst of American culture including [...]
Article by: Rhonda Rich -Athens Banner Herald, Feb. 25, 2007
There’s a lot of loneliness out there. Too many people caught on the periphery of goodwill in a society where we feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and shepherd the orphans. What about the others? Those who aren’t hungry, homeless or orphaned? They are simply [...]
Ireland may be enjoying stellar economic growth and seen as one of the best places in the world to live, but its inhabitants are apparently also the globe’s loneliest.
Google Trends, which works out how many searches have been done via the Internet search engine on particular terms, showed the word “lonely” was entered most frequently [...]
Living outside Rustenburg, South Africa. Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images
Economists at the World Bank calculate that 2.5 billion people live on $2 a day, but what exactly does that mean? In the developed world, living on so little would be almost unthinkable. For 40 percent of the global population, $2 a day is [...]
From: Los Angeles Times Opinion Section – By: Gregory Rodriguez. December 7, 2009
Researchers argue that far from being a personal issue, mass loneliness threatens our public health.
What’s a good way to keep from getting lonely in this high holy season of togetherness? Stay away from lonely people.
It’s brutal but true, and it’s the cutting-edge [...]
America’s New Deadly Obsession
Think you can drive and text or talk at the same time? Science shows your brain just can’t keep up. University of Utah researcher David Strayer has been studying distracted drivers for 10 years. “The brain just doesn’t work the way we’d like it to work,” he says. “We can’t multitask [...]
US News & World Reports – By: Deborah Kotz - Posted: Dec. 1, 2009
“All the lonely people, where do they all come from?” the Beatles sang in “Eleanor Rigby.” Well, now researchers know: Loneliness is contagious, according to a new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and can spread from person to [...]
Are You Lonely?” by: Vicki Glembocki (Research/Penn State, Vol. 14, no. 3 (September, 1993))
“Is it hard to get kids at school to like you? Are there kids you can go to when you need help in school? Are you lonely at school?”
When kindergarten and first graders were asked these questions as part of [...]
From: The Times of India-Delhi. Nandita Sengupta, TNN, Mar 14, 2010
NEW DELHI: On the face of it they’re busy and happening at 60: exercise regime, social work, satsang, paying bills housework and the works. Yet, in a disturbing way, loneliness is increasingly creeping up on the old in Delhi, making them feel isolated. A study on the [...]
From: The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Canada. June 28, 2002
A new study offers statistical evidence that animals can reduce loneliness in residents of long-term care facilities.
Until now, almost all published results on the subject have been anecdotal. In this study, participants were questioned about their history with pets and were ranked on a psychological test [...]
By Karen Leigh- Medill Washington, Published June 02, 2009
Insurgents are stealthy fighters, their attacks unexpected, startling and violent. Combined with the stress of longer deployments, loneliness and brutal desert conditions, they are the perfect trigger for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are [...]
From the The BBC World Service – May 16, 2010
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8569799.stm
There has been a sharp increase in helpline calls about loneliness
The number of UK children calling the national helpline Childline because they feel lonely has risen sharply.
From April 2008 to March 2009, 5,525 children called the helpline due to loneliness, sadness or isolation, [...]
Daniel Radcliffe PSA for The Trevor Project -”Saving Young Lives”
Link to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/trevorprojectmedia
With the tragic and recent gay youth suicides in the United States, I believe it is critical I provide important resources to help gay, lesbian and transgendered youth who are feeling suicidal, in crisis or lonely. The Trevor Project is a 24 hour, 7 day a week toll-free [...]
Article courtesy of: New Directions Behavioral Health.
Loneliness is a primary source of “deprivation” stress. People can experience the same physical and emotional impacts from loneliness as they do from work overload or difficult life circumstances. But can children feel loneliness? Research indicates that children as young as kindergarten not only have the capacity [...]
