In the past 40 years, the percentage of U.S. adults who say they’re lonely has doubled from 20 to 40 percent. Recent research has found that loneliness and social isolation are a greater threat to public health in the United States than obesity. Ironically, the rise of social media has been linked with increased feelings of social isolation among young people. In an age with more access to communication than ever, what is making us feel so isolated?
Studies have shown that lonely people have more fear of negative evaluation and often engage in overly cautious social behaviors that perpetuate their social isolation. On a deep level, most people struggle with a fundamental feeling that they’re an outsider, and this often leads them down a path in which they feel more alone. My father, psychologist and author Robert Firestone further describes how “the isolation and comfort of contemporary society carry with it the risk of reinforcing psychological defenses that contribute to an inward, self-protective, and somewhat emotionally deadened way of being and living.” In this 90-minute Webinar, Dr. Lisa Firestone will explore how a person’s defenses and their critical inner voice perpetuate their feelings of alienation. She will examine the true roots of loneliness. Why do people turn against themselves? How can they overcome the self-critical thoughts and self-sabotaging behaviors that perpetuate the cycle of solitude?
In her Webinar, Dr. Firestone will explain how individuals build certain psychological defenses to adapt to their early environment that can hurt or limit them in their current lives, leading to feelings of alienation, isolation and depression. Participants will learn valuable tools to identify and overcome their defenses and will be introduced to therapy techniques that will help them to shatter the negative filter through which they see themselves and the world around them. Individuals and therapists will be shown tools to overcome the “critical inner voice” that convinces people they are different in some negative sense. By emphasizing self-compassion and a common humanity, people can start to challenge core beliefs about themselves. They can break out of shells they never knew they’d built to live freer, more fulfilling lives and build more satisfying and meaningful connections.
- Learn about the psychological roots of loneliness.
- Overcome the critical inner voice that perpetuates feelings of isolation.
- Challenge the psychological defenses that limit one’s ability to make connections.
Length: 90 Minutes
