Photo: Fine Art/Getty ImagesEarlier this year the U.S. surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, issued a report on “loneliness and isolation” in America. Loneliness, Dr. Murthy explained, is a mental phenomenon. Isolation, by contrast, is a physical experience, arising when we are prevented, as during the pandemic, from being in the actual presence of family and friends. Either form of solitude, physical or mental, can increase the risk of everything from cardiovascular disease to diabetes to depression. And, Dr. Murthy says, we are facing an epidemic.

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Persons: Brandy ’, Édouard Manet, Vivek Murthy, Murthy Locations: U.S, America