Many
survival stories of and happier
people who were stranded lives than us—makes
in oceans, forests, and other us feel inferior, and we
places, have a certain aspect tend to avoid talking to
in common. Apart from their these “superior” people. It
is painfully sad that, instead of

unwavering courage and will to
making our lives more productive,
we start making it worse when we

live, all at some point discussed how
frightened they were of dying alone.
Doctors and psychologists support these see someone else happy. This behaviour
facts, saying that the need for someone encourages solitude and pessimism.
to talk to and be cared for by increases No matter how many friends we have,
proportionally with illness and old age. how many parties we attend, or how many
However, social isolation is not restricted to vacations we take ina year, the
people in nursing or retirement homes. factor that measures how happy
In her article, Renzetti mentioned we are is very simple—quality
a study that reported that almost time. Quality time with our
two-thirds of Canadian university families, friends, peers, and
students (out of the 34,000 asked) even strangers makes us feel
said that they felt “very lonely.” content and stress-free.
Not limited by demographics, We can make a difference in
loneliness is a plague that is rotting our / the lives of others and our own
society. Loneliness increases the release : by participating in community.
of stress hormones, making it difficult Group therapy can be found with the
to cope with difficult situations. help of meetings to discuss various topics,
People from all walks of life need to and classes for cooking, knitting, art, and more,
understand that nobody is completely is a simple, effective, and creative way to handle
alone. Healthy social interactions loneliness crisis. Taking some time to talk to
are as necessary for our emotional your family and friends and seek their advice
and mental well-being as healthy about your life and plans is also crucial.
food is for our good physical But we must not forget that conversation is
health. Being able to talk, express, a two-way process, so we must not just talk,
but also listen to others. Together, we need to
grow as a community, as a society, and not

and share thoughts in such depth
is a virtue no other life form on
focus solely on our self-interests and self-
obsession. Going out should be an

this planet other than humans
opportunity to learn about and

enjoys. Language was created to

assist in conversations, but not

for being used only on Facebook or nurture our relationships,

Twitter. Texting and sharing pictures and not just to relieve

or videos can never replace a face-to- » = boredom. Norman

face interaction. The illusion of being —_ “= Cousins, famous

able to connect to hundreds of people —- ~— world peace advocate

at a time makes us ignore the person - and winner of Albert

standing nearby who would actually Schweitzer Prize for

pay heed to what we say. A million Humanitarianism, aptly

said: “The eternal quest of
the individual human being

is to shatter his loneliness.”

likes or retweets can never match a
single warm hug from someone we love.

Our habit of constantly comparing
ourselves with others—looking at their pictures
and statuses on social media and thinking they have

By Chitwan Khosla,
Features Editor
better