I recently listened to an inspiring interview with Vivek Murthy, the current U. S. surgeon general.
Murthy has been instrumental in both the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations, influencing public policies related to the opioid crisis, e-cigarette use, COVID-19, water contamination, and other health risks.
His conversation with journalist David Greene focused on what Murthy views as an epidemic of loneliness and social isolation in our culture and how a lack of social connection negatively affects individual and community well-being.
After completing a listening tour of the United States in 2023, Murthy wrote an official advisory on the topic, in which he shared,
“People began to tell me they felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant. Even when they couldn’t put their finger on the word “lonely,” time and time again, people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds from every corner of the country would tell me, ‘I have to shoulder all of life’s burdens by myself,’ or ‘If I disappear tomorrow, no one will........© Psychology Today