Less Me Time + More Togetherness = A Healthier You

We all need healthy alone time or “me” time for self-care and quiet, down time.  It’s a good thing, right?  The fact is that too much time alone can lead to loneliness, isolation, and experiencing a lack of connection with others.  The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, in 2018 declared loneliness a global health threat and it has only worsened because of the isolation mandated by the pandemic.  But COVID-19 is not the biggest culprit for why people chose more and more want to be alone and not engage with each other in person.  Technology has revolutionized everything including how we see, experience, value, and prioritize being together – in real life.  When we were asked to isolate for health reasons, the safety and protection that we felt from cocooning at home, withdrawing from others, and living life online for the convenience to communicate, order food/groceries, educate students, and work all have contributed to the massive increase in loneliness.  Psychotherapist, John Tsilimparis, helps us connect the dots between our day-to-day activities, life/situational circumstances, emotions, technology/social media, culture, the environment and the loneliness that we are feeling today.  For many of us, we are not even aware that the heaviness we feel, the insomnia, and “just not feeling the need to go out” is, in fact, loneliness.  Join the conversation where John helps us find ways to decrease our loneliness by incorporating incremental behavioral steps like using good social media hygiene and prioritizing togetherness.