Being lonely is not the same as being alone. You can be married, a member of a book club or a CEO and still be lonely. 1 out of 5 people are lonely and that number is increasing. Even though loneliness is not classified as a mental health disorder, it does affect our health and well-being like depression or anxiety do. In fact, Time Magazine recently ran a piece entitled, "Why Loneliness May Be The Next Big Public-Health Issue." Clearly we need to take this seriously. Studies have shown that chronic loneliness increases mortality, inhibits one's immune system, increases blood pressure, detrime
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