Top Psychiatrist Says 'Go Back to Church' as Loneliness Now a Major US Health Threat

The U.S. Surgeon General says loneliness is now a public health threat so severe that it's on par with smoking and obesity.

For far too many Americans, loneliness can become a painful secret, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D. said, revealing that he experienced this firsthand. 

"This is an issue so many people struggle with in the shadows because they feel ashamed. And that was true for me as well," he told ABC News.

Like many others, Dr. Murthy experienced loneliness as a child, and again as an adult. 

"It was my wife Alice who stepped in and said, 'Hey I'm worried about you because you're not reaching out to people. You're not socializing with your friends,'" Dr. Murthy recalled. 

Last month, Dr. Murthy released a new Surgeon General Advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country.  He said loneliness increases the risk of physical ailments like heart disease, dementia, and stroke plus mental ones, including depression, anxiety, and suicide.  He adds the possibility of premature death due to loneliness could equal that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and can pose a greater health risk than living with obesity.