In this extraordinary era of pandemic isolation, it makes sense that people are feeling more alone than ever. Although stay-at-home orders and social distancing exacerbated loneliness, this trend started way before Corona took on a whole new meaning.   This rise of loneliness has caught the interest of many health professionals and is now being labeled as the new smoking. Cited as being as lethal as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, that has me wondering what’s changed and more importantly, what can we do about it?   Sharing his insight today is Michael Bauman, who is a Loneliness Entrepreneur Coach and Host of the Success Engineering podcast. Michael uses his knowledge of the neuroscience around loneliness and social connection, along with his personal experience feeling isolated as a business owner, to help entrepreneurs feel like they are not alone.   In this episode, Michael shares why social connection is biologically so important, the factors that have led to the  increase in feeling isolated, and actions we can take to begin overcoming loneliness.   Show Notes: [2:03] What is loneliness and how has it changed over the last 35 years [12:12] Use internal and external actions to overcome loneliness [17:00] What could be changed about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs  [23:08] The rise of individualism coincides with loneliness in the US [27:21] How Michael sees loneliness in the different countries he has lived [32:52] Raising kids with the balance of performance and play   More of Michael: Success Engineering   Mentions: The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids by Jessica Joelle Alexander Dr. Dan Siegel: https://drdansiegel.com/ Start with Why by Simon Sinek Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg   More of Justin & The Struggle is Real: Show Notes: https://justinpeters.co/thestruggleisreal/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinleepeters/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0yHxQvHpSdx_gJiQJpVCIQ?view_as=subscriber