Author: Aldis H. Petriceks, MD candidate (1)
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Brief Excerpt:
…But if loneliness allows for the propagation of sadness and suffering, perhaps its antitheses—connection, community, love—can stem the tide of our psychological troubles. I am thinking particularly of my instructor’s words—If you see someone struggling, reach out to them—and their simple, intuitive nature which belies an equally simple, yet profound idea: we must be close to our peers if we are to help them. As personal distance grows, so does the gap between one’s suffering and another’s understanding of it. But when people are close enough to recognize the unspoken, half-seen hurts of their peers, they can draw one another out of absorbed and isolated thought patterns. And it is there—in connection, in sharing, in vulnerability—that incessant mental struggles may be brought to light, understood, and healed in the company of others.
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Affiliation:
1. Harvard Medical School