The Connection Gap: Why Americans Feel Alone

I have continued down this path of learning about dealing with and progressing through loneliness. I read a few couple of books one being The Connection Gap: Why Americans Feel Alone. Time I opened the book the information was so compelling it provided a base for me to dive deeper into understanding loneliness. I was first interested in the area about shopping because I shopping is an activity I do too much of sometimes. “There have been many cultural and social changes in recent decades that it is no longer safe to make assumptions about what a family is , what a friend really means, even what “marriage” is or should look like.” I found that to be true and very relevant. I mean we’re discussing who should and should not be in public bathrooms. …show more content…
As the shopper you are there to be served, to have your needs met, to be thoroughly satisfied and attended to. In fact being a shopper is a very relaxing role… we are charging ahead into long-term committed relationships with corporate America. Commercial relationships are so appealing because they are so predictable.” This topic is relevant to loneliness to me because too often I fall victim to filling my surroundings with things as an antidote to dealing with the root causes of a problem. To add, briefly I also read about positive side of being alone, finding meaning in life alone, and how to manage the feedback gap in the book written by Dr. Rae Andre’ entitled Positive Solitude: A Practical Program for Mastering Loneliness and Achieving Self-Fulfilment. I have been saying that I’m “lonely” but after researching deeper I became to know that may not be the case at all. “The newest behavioral-science research suggests that this way of thinking is actually a mistake, because interestingly enough, loneliness is not a true emotion. An emotion is a set of distinct feelings that have observable and consistent physiological …show more content…
“Indeed, loneliness itself cannot be “cured” unless the various feelings that suggest it are dealt with. Freed from the belief that you need others, you can devote your energies to finding happiness and contentment within yourself.” After gaining an understanding of this concept Andre’ takes it a step further. “ Is this enough can the person alone really lead a fulfilling life? By who standards are we to decide what a fulfilling life is? Ultimately each of us needs to develop beliefs and goals that make sense of who we are in our aloneness. When you begin to understand the “problem” of loneliness, you often gain your first inkling that adopting a new attitude toward being alone may change your life.” It has and Im