Loneliness is thought to be more of a subjective, distressing feeling, it's often defined as the discrepancy between one's actual and desired level of connection. Julianne Holt-Lunstad More Quotes by Julianne Holt-Lunstad More Quotes From Julianne Holt-Lunstad People who are more socially connected live longer than people who are less socially connected. Julianne Holt-Lunstad health-news Different people in your life potentially influence you in different ways ... by having these different relationships we may be tapping into additional (biological) pathways that combine to a stronger effect, we can all benefit from taking our relationships just as seriously for our health as we do other lifestyle factors. Julianne Holt-Lunstad health-news It can be everything from the time we're little we have our parents encouraging us to eat our vegetables ... to a spouse or romantic partner encouraging us to get more sleep. Julianne Holt-Lunstad health-news Many people assume there's a threshold effect -- if you're lonely or isolated you're at risk, but as long as you've got someone in your life you're OK. Julianne Holt-Lunstad health-news We need to recognize that this is a health issue, it isn't just about our emotional well-being... it's also medical. Julianne Holt-Lunstad We are not meant to be alone. Julianne Holt-Lunstad A focus can be the potentially good feeling of solidarity, that we're looking our for each other in this pandemic, look at the Italians out singing on balconies and communicating across distances. That is communicating to others that 'we're in this together' despite the distance. Julianne Holt-Lunstad Some research also suggests that engaging in creative arts would be helpful, so this is potentially a time when people could try that, it could be anything - from poetry to cooking to any number of ways to creatively express yourself. Julianne Holt-Lunstad