How to be lonely
How to be lonely

America is incredibly lonely, but social norms and the nature of loneliness, itself, can make it difficult for people to take the actions that make them feel more connected to others; loneliness can lead to a feedback loop in which feelings of isolation make you perceive the world in ways that lead you to feel even lonelier.


Since this leaves a lot of folks feeling trapped in their loneliness and unable to see a way out, we decided to develop some activities to help break the cycle.

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Ashley Kirsnerlonely, loneliness, isolation, psychology, research, how to, suicide hotline, self-care, support, cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT, dialectical behavior therapy, DBT, psychology research, social isolation, feelings, how to be lonely, how to improve communication, skip the small talk, Skip the Small Talk, STST, stst, social cognitions, social cognitions about loneliness, connectedness, connection, what to do when you feel lonely, what to do when lonely, what to do when you're lonely, how can I feel less lonely, what can I do to feel less alone, alone, how to ask for help, talk big, talk big not small, relationship, relationships, managing relationshipsComment
The four words that change the way people talk to you
The four words that change the way people talk to you

Imagine you’re hanging out with a friend.

 

You’ve been chatting for a bit, and they reveal something more vulnerable about themselves than they usually discuss with you. Maybe it’s admitting that they feel lonely at work, or maybe it’s talking about their history with depression. Whatever it is, it’s a level or two deeper than your usual conversations.

 

How do you respond?

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Ashley Kirsnercommunication, feedback, honesty, honest, get people to be more honest, get people to tell the truth, get people to open up, getting people to open up, vulnerable, vulnerability, gratitude, open, openness, active listening, thanks for telling me, thanks for sharing, thank you for sharing, s, skip the small talk, skipping the small talk, psychology, Skip the Small Talk, STST, how to skip the small talk, how to get people to open up, how to get people to open up to you, how to make friends, how to meet new people, healthy relationships, healthy relationship, how to make my relationship last, how to talk to people, how to improve communication, communicate, how to communicate, thank you for telling me, get people to tell you the truth, how to get people to tell you the truth, how to get people to be honest with you, how do i get people to be more honest with me, relationships, relationship, how to have a healthy relationship, how to have healthy relationships, how to have healthier relationships, talk big, talk big not small, how to have real conversations, conversation starters, conversation, conversations Comment
If you have trouble skipping the small talk, this might explain why
If you have trouble skipping the small talk, this might explain why

I recently found myself in two almost identical social situations with one small difference that changed everything about the way the interaction went down.

 

A few months ago, I had some new friends over my house when one of my friends took advantage of a brief silence:

 

“Can I ask you all a weird question?”

 

We all nodded and leaned forward a tiny bit in our chairs.

 

“Is a hamburger a sandwich?”

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Ashley Kirsnerhamburger, sandwich, is a hamburger a sandwich, questions, skip the small talk, skipping the small talk, buy-in, consent, awkward, awkward situations, leadership, good leadership, going deeper, how to go deeper, deep conversations, how to have deep conversations, boundary, boundaries, how to skip the small talk, STST, Skip the Small Talk, how do I skip the small talk, talk big, talk big not small, how to get people to open up, how to get closer to, how to get closer to people, how can I get closer to, hamburgers vs. sandwiches, hamburger vs. sandwich, conversations, how to have better conversations, how to get better at communicating, communication, communicating, how to improve communication, communication problems, having communication problems, how to get people talking, icebreaker, icebreakers, how to be less awkward, socially awkward, healthy relationship, healthy relationships, relationship, relationships, managing relationships, conversation starters, how not to be awkward, social awkwardnessComment