Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3656: Loneliness is rising to dangerous levels, yet Ryan Frederick highlights how thoughtful choices about where and how we live can help foster deep social connections and belonging. Drawing on insights from researchers like Dr. John Cacioppo and examples such as co-housing and walkable communities, Frederick explores practical ways to make the opposite of loneliness part of everyday life. Discover how simple kindness, intentional design, and community spirit can transform isolation into connection. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.here.life/blog/the-opposite-of-loneliness Quotes to ponder: "We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life. What I’m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place." "It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team." "Loneliness and weak social connections are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices