"The Loneliness Effect"- Barbara Sadick
Research suggests that social isolation and feeling lonely may rival obesity as a threat to people’s health. Unlike heart disease, physical activity and smoking – which are national health priorities – social isolation and loneliness have gotten relatively short shrift in this country. Humans are a social species with an innate biological drive to connect, explains Dolores Malaspina, MD, MPH, professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, and genetics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Human survival, she says, depends on connectedness, with feelings of loneliness serving as a biological signal to socialize. But the brain’s wiring for socialization can malfunction, leading people to feel isolated and bereft. In fact, Dr. Malaspina says, evidence shows that feelings of loneliness can begin in infancy, though treating the resulting depression “can restore the ability to connect and alter the brain’s circuitry.”
- Dolores Malaspina, MD, MPH, Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Director, Psychosis Program, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai