And I saw in the research that loneliness was far more common than I had thought, affecting 22% of adults in America. And people wouldn't say to me, 'I'm lonely,' but they would say things like this: 'I feel like I have to shoulder all of these burdens by myself' 'I feel if I disappear tomorrow, no one would even notice.' And I heard this time and time again. But what I didn't expect was that behind so many of their stories were threads of loneliness. I heard many familiar stories about substance use and addiction, stories about depression and anxiety. On finding that loneliness is at the root of so much emotional and physical pain It's a subject he writes about in his new book, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. 'I found that people who struggle with loneliness, that that's associated with an increased risk of heart disease, dementia, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and even premature death,' he told NPR.

Loneliness, he learned, was impacting them not only mentally but also physically. And one more thing - something he wasn't really prepared for - the number of Americans suffering from a lack of human connection. That meant addressing opioid addiction, diabetes and heart disease. Vivek Murthy was surgeon general of the United States during the Obama administration, he went on a listening tour of America: He wanted to hear firsthand about people's health concerns.

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