Hey everyone, it's K-Sunga here. I just want to let you know that we've launched a brand

new call and advice podcast called Dear Headspace. Each week the headspace teachers, along

with some amazing new friends, are answering your questions about relationships, work,

life, mindfulness, and just about everything else. It's so different from anything we've

ever created and we're so excited for you to hear it. Dear Headspace comes out every

Tuesday on the Headspace app and anywhere that you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening.

Hi, Sam here and welcome to Radio Headspace and to Monday morning. I'm so happy to be back

on Radio Headspace and to get to spend the next few weeks here with you. So if you've

heard some of my previous episodes, you know that I've spent a lot of time in Sweden.

And there were many elements that drew me to Sweden, from universal healthcare to a year

of paid parental leave for everyone. It seemed to be the most ideal place on the planet.

So when I arrived my expectations were high and at first Sweden seemed to be meeting all

of my expectations. The subways are quiet, everything is clean, buses and trains arrive

on time and people are pleasant. But as I stayed longer and eventually lived there for

more than a year, certain aspects of Sweden began to wear on me. The harsh winters were

hard but there was something much harder and it was this feeling of gut wrenching loneliness

that I felt on a daily basis as I moved about the city. An obvious factor is what many

Swedes have described to me as an intense need to preserve privacy. Other Swedes have told

me that they're all just pretty shy. When I asked my husband why no strangers talk or

even look at each other in public, he literally said that Swedes respect each other's headspace.

I know, that was crazy to hear. And though I couldn't force myself to interpret this social

isolation in any other way, I learned to accept it and make the best of it. I remember participating

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