Together by Vivek H. Murthy

For many of us it is the ultimate fear: to die alone. Loneliness is a difficult subject to address because it has such negative connotations in our intensely social world. But the truth is that wherever there are people, there is loneliness.
Drawing on the latest research in philosophy, psychology, and the social sciences, "A Philosophy of Loneliness" explores the different kinds of loneliness and examines the psychological and social characteristics that dispose people to them. Svendsen looks at the importance of friendship and love, and he examines how loneliness can impact our quality of life and affect our physical and mental health.

A bold, hopeful, and thought-provoking account by "one of the world's leading thinkers" (The Observer) of how we built a lonely world, how the pandemic accelerated the problem, and what we must do to come together again. Loneliness has become the defining condition of the twenty-first century. It is damaging our health, our wealth, and our happiness and even threatening our democracy. Never has it been more pervasive or more widespread, but never has there been more that we can do about it.
Combining a decade of research with firsthand reporting, Noreena Hertz takes us from a "how to read a face" class at an Ivy League university to isolated remote workers in London during lockdown, from "renting a friend" in Manhattan to nursing home residents knitting bonnets for their robot caregivers in Japan. Offering bold solutions ranging from compassionate AI to innovative models for urban living to new ways of reinvigorating our neighborhoods and reconciling our differences, "The Lonely Century" offers a hopeful and empowering vision for how to heal our fractured communities and restore connection in our lives.

There are three universal experiences that we cannot escape: loneliness, illness, and death.  The Psychological Journey To and From Loneliness addresses what was termed the plague of the 21st century--loneliness.  Loneliness is stigmatized in our society, so untold number of people walk around lonely, unable to do what is so naturally called for--make their suffering known, and approach others for company and support.  Thankfully, loneliness is slowly, but steadily, coming out of the "closet."  This book will highlight not only the experience and what can be done about it, but also the experiences that influence it (i.e., our childhood, cultural and religious influences, and our way of life) as well as the effects that loneliness has on various population groups and how it is experienced at different times in our lives. This volume reviews theoretical approaches to the study of loneliness: the (positive) functions that loneliness may serve in our lives; the stages in life when loneliness is quite "visible" and its effects on us; the life experiences that may strengthen the feeling that one is all alone and forgotten; life experiences that we do not commonly connect to loneliness but it is clearly present in them (e.g., pregnancy and childbirth); and the approaches that are available to copy with its pain and limit its negative effects on us.  The book closes with a review of how psychotherapy can assist those who need encouragement and support in their struggle with loneliness.  The book is particularly suitable for academics, researchers, and clinicians who aim to help clients identify, address, and cope with loneliness.

"Living with Mental Illness in a Globalised World systematically examines the manifold contributions to the burdens of living with mental illness in a developing and globalized world. It explores the stigma of mental illness, the burden of which compares to the symptoms of and is sometimes considered more disabling than the illness itself. The book starts by reviewing the socio-psychological and cultural processes that contribute to stigma and providing evidence-based interventions to combat it. Chapters critically investigate the ideological and instrumental barriers to mental health care and establish that determining the conceptualizations of mental illness helps to unravel the reasons for the underutilization of mental health services. A compelling case is made for a complementary health care model and bottom-up approach that is sensitive to the spiritual and cultural needs of the people. The text's specific examination of mental health care in African countries makes it a timely piece for assisting mental health professionals in understanding the inequities in care that Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic groups face and how to improve mental health care and delivery to these groups."

In the tradition of Lori Gottlieb and Henry Marsh, a distinguished psychiatrist examines his own practice.   Alastair Santhouse knew something was wrong the night he was on call during his medical training and got the news that a woman on the way to the ER had died in the ambulance. That meant he could go back to sleep! But he couldn't. He was overtaken with the sense that his joyful reaction was terrible failure. That night began his long journey away from the ER and into psychiatry.   Head First chronicles Santhouse's many years treating patients and his exploration of the ways in which our minds exert a huge and underappreciated influence over our health. They shape our responses to symptoms that we develop, dictate the treatments we receive, and influence whether they work. They even influence whether we develop symptoms at all.   Written with brutal honesty, deep compassion, and a wry sense of humor, Head First examines difficult cases that illuminate some of our most puzzling and controversial medical issues--from the tragedy of suicide, to the stigma surrounding obesity, to the mysteries of self-induced illness. Ultimately he finds that our medical model has failed us by promoting specialization and overlooking perhaps the single most important component of our health: our state of mind.