Feeling lonely? Meet the people who suffered extreme isolation – then found happiness

The first ‘minister for loneliness’ has just been appointed to tackle a problem that seems more common by the day. We talk to people who were seriously lonely, but discovered ways to break free – including saying yes to every invitation.

Steve talks in a way that makes you want him to keep talking. His warm humor immediately puts you at ease, which makes it difficult to process what he is describing: a period in his late 20s, about two decades ago, when loneliness felt so engulfing he could barely speak. He craved the company of friends, but when they visited, he gave them cold cups of tea to make them leave. “I’d be at home absolutely desperate to see somebody, but then all I wanted was for them to get out. I’d try to get rid of them as soon as I could by not talking to them, being rude, the cold-cup-of-tea tactic – all the while knowing that was not the thing that I wanted,” he says. Complete Article