Being Well With Dr. Rick Hanson

Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore how we can be surrounded by other people, and still feel alone. They cover the genetic and developmental roots of loneliness, and how loneliness can creep into even our most connected, important relationships. During our ongoing series on “Who Am I,” we’ve explored psychological conditions of various kinds – many of which are stigmatized and pathologized. You can find them in the DSM - the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the primary diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatric Association. It’s worth noting that there are a lot of very unpleasant parts of life that no reasonable person would categorize as “disorders.” For instance, there’s no DSM entry for sadness or loneliness. Or frustration, rage, general lack of fulfillment, and so on. There’s a real risk sometimes of over-medicalizing perfectly normal parts of the human experience. Today we're focusing on one of those parts: feelings of loneliness.  If you'd like to start making real