Lonely Down to Your Genes

Having lived overseas away from close family and friends for the past seven years, I have had bouts of loneliness. Nothing serious enough to require cognitive behavior therapy, but perhaps that’s because I didn’t inherit the genes that predispose me to feeling lonely.

In a study of 8,000 identical and non-identical twins, identical twins had more similar loneliness ratings suggesting that those feelings may be partially determined by genes. Researchers hypothesize that loneliness may have originated when hunter-gatherers needed to protect their hoard of food and cut off contact with others.

Lonely all the way down to our genes. Makes a good country-western song, don’t you think?

NB: No, that’s not a picture of me!

BBC News, November 11, 2005