A San Francisco-based organization is looking to fight chronic loneliness through novel workshop initiatives called "empathy bootcamps," according to Yahoo Lifestyle.
Here are four things to know:
1. According to a recent nationwide survey conducted by Cigna, nearly 50 percent of Americans feel lonely. Adults between the ages of 18 and 22 identified as feeling more isolated than older adults and retirees.
2. Kelsey Crowe, PhD, founder of Help Each Other Out, and her colleague Tracy Mulholland, director and senior associate trainer of the organization, are attempting to combat the loneliness epidemic through empathy-immersion courses to teach individuals how compassion can strengthen their relationships and decrease feelings of loneliness.
3. Ms. Crowe told Yahoo Lifestyle loneliness is often caused by an individual's frustration at the lack of human connection they experience in their daily life. The three-hour bootcamp sessions aim to provide participants with the practical tools to help them break down communication barriers between themselves and others.
4. Ms. Crowe said she aims to make empathy bootcamp sessions just as popular as yoga and meditation. The sessions are currently offered at various facilities in Portland, Ore., Los Angeles and Brooklyn, N.Y.
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