Holiday gatherings have a way of amplifying everyone’s quirks. I was looking forward to hosting my parents for a week during Thanksgiving, but in the limited space of a one-bedroom apartment, ...

Over the past few years, experts have been sounding the alarm over how much time Americans spend alone. These trends coincided with the surgeon general's 2023 declaration of a loneliness epidemic, ...

Just like any other relationship, we must nurture the one that we have with ourselves, whether that means spending dedicated time alone, starting the day with positive affirmations, or intentionally ...

Social connection, support, and interaction are incredibly important, according to a study from World Psychiatry — not just for relationship well-being, but also for mental and physical health. These ...

As a recent college graduate in a new city, Samantha Elliott thought she'd be lonely. Instead, she found companionship in the most unexpected place: with herself. And that, ironically, helped expand ...

Keane is the supervising editor of NPR’s Life Kit and author of the book Party of One: Be Your Own Best Life Partner. There’s a lot of fear around spending time alone. Alone time can make people itchy ...

Finally, the door closed and the noise stopped. I was in my bedroom, my own bedroom, with the lights turned perfectly low and no one else around. It was the holiday season, and I had just spent nearly ...

You love getting together with your whole family for the holidays. But then you’re there, and it suddenly feels like a lot. How can you love these people to death, yet long to slip away for five ...

Even before the pandemic, fretting about loneliness had become a national obsession. People feel lonely when they are not getting the amount or the quality of time with other people that they want.

Traditionally, the holidays are for spending time with family and friends, perhaps with a varying degree of religious rituals or practices. There’s also pressure not to miss certain family ...