SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN | Seventy years ago, the philosopher Hannah Arendt described how loneliness inflames the connective tissues of a society, creating the conditions in which totalitarianism can take hold.

Contemporary medical research demonstrates a similar phenomenon within our own bodies. Social disconnection is a chronic stressor that triggers inflammation and significantly harms our physical and mental health.

In my latest article for Scientific American, Kim Samuel explores the profound connection between social isolation’s physical and societal impacts. Social isolation activates our stress-response systems, flooding our bodies with cortisol, heightening inflammation, and weakening our immunity. Similarly, at a societal level, it erodes civic trust, fueling polarization and authoritarian tendencies.

READ.