For people of all ages, social connections are critical to health and wellbeing. Experts say we are inherently social creatures — hardwired to engage and depend on others for support throughout a lifecycle.

Doctors and health researchers have signaled concerns about loneliness for decades — forced isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic introduced many more people to daily struggles with loneliness. 

How important are social connections? How does loneliness impact a person’s mental and physical health? And are people looking for social connections in the right places?  

MPR News shares “Seeking Connection,” a special broadcast from Call to Mind, American Public Media’s initiative to foster conversations about mental health. The special explores the relationship between loneliness, mental health, and the power of social connections.    

Guests:

• Elias Aboujaoude, chief of anxiety disorders section at the Stanford University School of Medicine




• Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University




• Carla Perissinotto, professor and associate chief for geriatrics clinical programs at the University of California San Francisco