Considering Loneliness

Put the words "murder" and "loner" into a web search and you won’t have

any shortage of matches. Certainly it’s been a characteristic used to

describe several perpetrators of mass violence in the fairly recent past.

Some research about loneliness, and those who retreat deeply into it,

suggests that a significant number suffer physical and emotional risks of

their own…which sometimes can trigger backlash behavior against society.

Statistics suggest that the percentages of people living alone keeps

moving steadily forward and the number of people who report being lonely

at any given point in time has jumped from 20% in 1980 to 40% more

recently. A Guardian column was titled, THE AGE OF LONELINESS IS KILLING

US, while on the other hand, a Psychology Today column was titled THE

HAPPY LONER and began with the words “Loners get a bad rap.”

We had a number of conversations with folks who have studied what’s

happening when loneliness develops, how it can devolve into anti-social

behavior, but more important still, how it can upset personal peace and

lead to an aching depression and physical challenges and a compromised

hope for a longer life. Our guests also reflect on how an individual can

get help and how those close to a lonely loved one can offer support.

And one of our guests wants to make sure we don’t stigmatize all people

who choose freely to live alone-- at no risk to themselves or others.

Guests: Dr. Louise Hawkley, Dr. Steven Asher, Dr. Bella DePaulo and

licensed therapist Robert Thomson. Paul Ingles hosts.