Feeling Lonely? Try These Therapist-Recommended Strategies Today

These days, we’re more connected than ever-you can FaceTime with your husband during his business trip abroad or plan a vacation with friends around the country via iMessage. Still, nearly half of Americans report feeling lonely nearly all of the time, according to a 2018 survey of 20,000 people from Cigna, a global health service company.

What exactly does that mean? “Loneliness is a subjective experience or feeling,” explains Sari Chait, PhD, a clinical psychologist and founder of Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, LLC in Newton, MA. It often describes not feeling connected to people and being sad about that lack of connection. “It can be brief or situational, such as if you’ve recently moved to a new town where you don’t know anybody yet, or loneliness can be more chronic,” Chait says.

Loneliness is not just a byproduct of living alone, being without a spouse, or lacking a big group of friends. “It can happen whether there are people around or not,” confirms Jacqueline Olds, MD, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, and author of The Lonely American.

And, when chronic, the feeling comes with real consequences; researchers go as far as calling loneliness a public health epidemic. In fact, studies have even linked loneliness to an increased risk of early death. Lonely people’s immune systems appear to work differently, activating the body’s fight or flight stress response and increasing inflammation. The feeling has been associated with a slew of chronic conditions, from depression to heart disease, and even cognitive decline.

“Loneliness can negatively impact almost all aspects of your life,” says Chait. Fortunately, there are measures you can take that’ll benefit both your happiness and your health. “If you can become more socially connected, it’s like giving up smoking,” says Dr. Olds.

So, how exactly do you deal with loneliness? Here, eight strategies to feel more connected, whole, and happy.