What prevents all these people from simply joining a club, making new friends, or reconnecting with family and old friends? In a word, loneliness itself. When we already feel lonely and then see others having fun together, enjoying the company of those around them, there’s a natural tendency to withdraw instead of approaching the group. We fear being labeled and judged as social outcasts. (To understand this worry, just spend some time in a grade school cafeteria or playground.) So we hide our true feelings even from those who may try to connect with us. Shame and fear thus conspire to turn
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