Comedy and music are have always been joined at the hip, and that especially applies to performers from the sketch-comedy institution Saturday Night Live. (For a real deep dive on that subject, check out Questlove’s excellent documentary Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music.)
One of the show’s definitive two-way talents was Adam Sandler, though a lot of casual fans forget about his musical skills. Now they have a reminder: In a newly resurfaced clip from the 1992 Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, the "Sand Man" performs a solo acoustic snippet of Bob Dylan’s 1973 folk-rock classic "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door." His take is hilarious and technically impressive, drawing both cheers and laughter as he channels the snarling Guns N’ Roses version.
Sandler coyly giggles and vaguely explores his signature gibberish voice, picking through clean chords on his Fender Stratocaster. The real highlight, though, is his voice: He starts with a relatively faithful Axl Rose imitation, even stretching out the word "more" into a perfect "mo-oh-wuh," but he ramps up the intensity (and the octave) toward the end—resulting in a shriek that, in his words, sounds like "Axl turning into [famously screechy All in the Family character] Edith Bunker." Incredible.
Just for Laughs posted the clip on various social media channels, including a YouTube supercut called "Saturday Night Live Cast Members Can Sing!" The video also includes live footage from Tina Fey (singing a slinky cabaret tune), Martin Short (crooning a randy Sinatra-styled ballad), Jimmy Fallon, Sarah Silverman, and Jim Belushi.
Music has, indeed, been a through line of Sandler’s career, from numerous performances on SNL ("Lunch Lady Land," Opera Man) to film roles (he played the title character in 1998’s The Wedding Singer) to comedy albums to stand-up tours.
"I used to get so scared on stage and so nervous when I didn't have a guitar," he told NPR in 2023. "And I'd forget my lines. I'd forget my jokes, that kind of thing. And then, when I started playing guitar on stage and singing funny tunes, I had more confidence than usual. At least I could—I knew I could play guitar a little bit, and I knew the lines already from the song. I was like, OK, I memorized that, so let me just try that." Having the guitar, he said, "helped relax" him.
And it’s still a major part of Sandler’s comedy, even helping him process his grief. One of his finest moments is a musical tribute to late friend and SNL co-star Chris Farley—a piece featured on his solo tours, his Netflix special 100% Fresh, and the SNL episode that he hosted in 2019. It’s a Springsteen-leaning ballad that brings plenty of sharp one-liners, a psychedelic guitar solo, and some heartbreaking moments of reflection.
"The first few times we played that song, I would tear up and I couldn’t really sing it well because I’d get so emotional and then I felt it and was able to get it out there," he told "Happy Sad Confused" host Josh Horowitz.
Keep on strumming, Sand Man.
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An adorable dog knows it's time for bed when it hears the end music of the reality show 'Love Island.'
One of life’s few unpolluted pleasures is watching your pet experience a genuine Pavlovian response. Stephen, my handsome and wrinkly pit bull mix, brings me daily dinnertime joy when he bolts to his crate, clearly understanding when I touch the measuring cup that it’s time to feast.
A pup named Polly has gone viral for an equally sweet but way funnier reason: darting to her crate for bedtime upon hearing the closing theme music to the reality TV dating show Love Island. User "jonesbethc" posted the evidence on TikTok, showing Polly’s face perk up amid the pounding drums; then, when those slick synthesizers kick in, the dog looks back for confirmation and then obediently jumps off the bed and into her crate. "Polly knows the ending sound of love island means bedtime," jonesbethc wrote in the caption.
Based on the comments, a lot of fellow dog parents have a similar ritual with their furry friends. "When I say 'hello sky, turn off,' my dogs put themselves to bed," some wrote. Another added, "My cockapoo does this with the audible beep my Xbox makes when you turn it off."
The thread is filled with great responses:
"When I say 'Are you tired?' he goes straight to bed."
"Mine is the same except it’s when she hears the click of me turning my phone off."
"My dog does this, but when he hears me take my glasses off he knows it’s bed time."
"My dog used to do this to Grey’s Anatomy."
"Mine knows the sound of me turning off my PlayStation means bed."
If you have a dog in your life, you probably know that they have other ways of experiencing television. And if you’re like my wife, you may even argue that your dog watches TV—as in, consumes it as a form of mental stimulation (and maybe even entertainment). There are plenty of videos floating around YouTube and social media of dogs trying to eat snacks off the screen or sitting attentively as they watch nature shows. The real question: What are they really doing?
The Guardian recently spoke to an expert on this phenomenon: Dr. Freya Mowat, a veterinary ophthalmologist and a professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s veterinary medicine school. In 2022, she conducted a worldwide survey of over 1,200 dog owners, documenting which types of visuals appealed most to pooches.
"Most dogs most like watching dogs—just like people like watching people, I guess,” she said, noting that they like watching all animals. (Sadly for us, humans came in ninth out of 17 categories.) Because dogs’ eyes are more sensitive to movement than ours, they responded most to TV shows and films with lots of movement, particularly the sci-fi and action genres.
Seventy-eight percent approached the screen when interested, and 76% responded vocally. “We watch TV for enjoyment, for emotional realism, for whatever personal preferences we have,” Mowat told The Guardian. “I think dogs watch TV because they’re checking if it is real."
Since you can never have too much "cute dog" content in your life, I’d suggest revisiting this tear-jerking video of a blind-and-deaf dog enthusiastically greeting its owners.
True intelligence is more about perspective, observation, and intuition than test scores. Over the past century, researchers have sought unconventional ways to measure it. IQ tests are now widely used to assess candidates at top institutions, but one test making waves for its simplicity is the "world’s shortest IQ test," the
Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT), which has just three questions.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Yan Krukov
CRT, not to be confused with Critical Race Theory, was originated by Yale University Professor Shane Frederick who published a report about it in the
Journal of Economic Perspectives in 2005. The three-item cognitive test was designed to measure a person’s cognitive ability through their psychometric scores. These were the three mind-boggling questions of the test:
1. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
2. If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?
3. In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?
via GIPHYThe correct answers for the questions, according to the paper, were “5 cents,” “five minutes,” and “47 days” respectively. The explanations for these answers are stunningly quite simple, as Dr. Lyndon Walker, a former statistics and finance lecturer, tells in a YouTube video. For the first question, an impulsive response might be “10 cents” as the quiz-taker might simply subtract 10 cents from $1.10 to obtain $1.00. But this is not the correct way as the number 10 refers to cents while the number 1.10 refers to dollars. So, if one assumes the ball’s cost to be x dollars, the bat’s cost would be (x+1) dollars, hence the equation: x + (x + 1) = 1.10, which answers $0.05, meaning 5 cents.
The second question is a bit trickier. Since 5 machines take 5 minutes to build 5 widgets, the quizzer might react to the question saying the time taken for 100 machines to build 100 widgets would be 100 minutes. That’d be incorrect. In actuality, if 5 machines take 5 minutes to build 5 widgets, it means that if there are 100 machines, then in every 5 minutes, each set of 5 machines will make 5 widgets, hence, totaling 100 widgets. Therefore, the correct answer is 5 minutes.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Pixabay
The third question is the most complex of all. If the patch doubles in size every day, and if it takes 48 days to cover the entire lake, then let’s assume the lake’s size is 2x. Since the size on the last day was double the size of the previous day, the previous day’s patch size was x. So, it took 48 minus one, that is 47 days to cover x, that is half the lake.
Researchers who first conducted this test mainly evaluated participants’ performance based on two factors: Time preference and risk preference, as per the paper. The CRT was carried out on 3,428 respondents in 35 separate studies over 26 months beginning in January 2003. Most respondents were undergraduates at various universities in the Midwest and Northeast who were paid $8 to complete a 45-minute questionnaire.
Frederick mentioned in the report that another researcher Kahneman classified the psychology behind people’s responses into two categories: “System 1” and “System 2.” In the System 1 process, the individual answered spontaneously, without paying much attention. Whereas, in the System 2 process, people utilized their mental operations requiring effort, motivation, concentration, and the execution of learned roles. In most of these questions, the impulsive, that is, System 1 answers proved to be incorrect. For instance, the candidates who answered 10 cents for the first question, 100 minutes for the second question, or 24 days for the third question.
Adding to the explanation behind people’s responses to the three-item CRT, Frederick noted in the paper that people with high cognitive abilities usually live longer, earn more, have larger working memories, have faster reaction times, and are more susceptible to visual illusions. But till now, not many attempts have been made to determine this ability in people, except for CRT. “Despite the diversity of phenomena related to IQ, few have attempted to understand—or even describe—its influences on judgment and decision making,” wrote Frederick.
In the summer of 2015, Samantha Hansen set foot in the snow-white terrain of Antarctica along with her team of researchers from the University of Arizona and the University of Alabama. They were carrying spades and shovels to scoop out snow from the field and do their task. Their goal was to set up and install seismology stations. Using these stations, the researchers identified a mysterious range of underground mountains sandwiched between Earth’s mantle and core. According to their study, these mountains are five times taller than Mount Everest in some places. Findings were published in the journal Science Advances.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Hugo Sykes
“Analyzing thousands of seismic recordings from Antarctica, our high-definition imaging method found thin anomalous zones of material at the CMB (cosmic microwave background) everywhere we probed,” said Dr. Edward Garnero, co-author of the study, in a university press release. “The material’s thickness varies from a few kilometers to 10’s of kilometers. This suggests we are seeing mountains on the core, in some places up to 5 times taller than Mt. Everest.” Along with Hansen and Garnero, the co-authors of the paper included Mingming Li and Sang-Heon Shim from Arizona State University and Dr. Sebastian Rost from the University of Leeds. Through global-scale seismic imaging, they unfolded these colossal mountains hidden deep beneath the Earth’s surface.
Deep inside the Earth’s surface, the boundary between its core and mantle has been an environment of curiosity for geologists worldwide. According to Insider, about 2,000 miles under the Earth's surface, temperatures soar drastically, and the material changes from solid rock in the mantle to a “gooey iron sludge” inside the core. Geologists study seismic waves spreading from the epicenter of an earthquake to the inside of a planet, to understand what lurks and happens in the planet’s innards. "Admittedly, to most people, seismic data is probably not that interesting to look at. It is a wiggly line that varies with time. But that wiggly line contains an amazing amount of information!" Hansen told Insider.
Representative Image Source: Sectional view of the Earth, showing central fire and underground canals linked to oceans, 1665. From Mundus Subterraneous by Athanasius Kircher. (Photo by Oxford Science Archive/Print Collector/Getty Images)
This particular study suggested that there was a layer of “ancient ocean floor” squished between the core-mantle boundary. It was subducted long ago as tectonic plates shifted. They called this region the “ultra-low velocity zone (ULVZ).” This zone was denser than the rest of the mantle. Scientists found this ancient ocean floor by scanning the seismic waves reverberating through it, just the way a body is examined through an X-ray or medical scan. “Seismic investigations, such as ours, provide the highest resolution imaging of the interior structure of our planet, and we are finding that this structure is vastly more complicated than once thought,” Hansen said in the press release. “Our research provides important connections between shallow and deep Earth structure and the overall processes driving our planet.”
Representative Image Source: Pexels | NASA
Using a system of sound wave echoes from the core-mantle boundary, Hansen and her team identified unusual spurts of energy within several seconds of examination. Mapping these signals, they compared the layer of this “pencil-thin” material to the thickness of Earth’s layers, which led them to find ULVZ. The ULVZ or mountains they found ranged from less than about 3 miles to more than 25 miles. As per the press release, the discovery of these underground mountains can provide a potential explanation of how heat escapes from the magnetized core. Also, further study of these ancient ocean floor materials could provide insights into how volcanic eruptions happen when the mantle plumes or hot spots travel back to the surface.
This article originally appeared last year.
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File:Pizzaiolo avec sa pizza à la coupe.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Acts of kindness can brighten someone’s day, but sometimes they don't go as expected. It's disheartening when good deeds are punished. On Reddit, former pizza joint employee u/Huge_Buddy_2216 shared how his manager criticized him for buying dinner for a homeless man. However, the story took a surprising turn when a customer found a clever way to help.
The employee shared that he was working at a well-known US pizza delivery chain store in the early 2000s. He wrote, “For anyone who has ever worked in the US food service industry, you're probably familiar with what a failing dumpster fire of a restaurant looks like. On many nights it was just me and one driver taking care of the whole restaurant.”
He further shared his grievances as he mentioned that he did not have any breaks during his shift. He said in the post, "Breaks were out of the question because the restaurant would be completely unattended, the recent franchise buyers were complete and total idiots who would show up unannounced to yell at me, and the overwhelming majority of our customers ordered once and then never again. We had pizza deliveries taking 90+ minutes, people bringing them back to the store ... it was a nightmare."
Representative Image Source: Pexels I Photo by Jvxhn Visuals
After talking about his workplace's toxic environment, the employee goes on to narrate how one day a homeless man walked into the store to enquire whether the shop had any leftover pizzas. He wrote, "Well, 11 pm rolls around as I'm kind of standing by the phones watching the clock tick down, and a homeless man walks in. He introduced himself as Ricky and asked if we had any leftover pizzas that nobody picked up."
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Budgeron Bach
The employee mentioned that he apologetically informed Ricky that there were no leftovers. But, since he was in a good mood, he asked him what he wanted. The user described the incident saying, "He says he likes the meat lovers' pizza. Since he isn't a sociopath like some of our customers, I say I'll be happy to make him one. Ricky at this point is so thankful that he sits down in one of our chairs and starts bouncing up and down like a little kid."
Representative Image Source: Pexels I Photo by Polina Tankilevitch
The former employee had also paid for the pizza on behalf of the homeless man which cost him 12 dollars, equivalent to the wages of an hour and a half at the shop. He calls the transaction a "Good deal." Soon, things took an ugly turn as the manager arrived. "As the pizza comes out of the oven, in comes the area manager - the brother of the franchise owner. He begins shouting as usual and accuses me of stealing from the store,” he wrote.
The user talks about Henry, who is a regular customer at the shop and witnessed the commotion. He narrates, "The area manager shouts a bit more, calls me a liar, says the count better be right that night, and leaves." Soon both Ricky and Henry get their respective pizzas and leave the store with the duo spotted having a chat outside the shop.
The employee then explained how Henry devised a clever plan to help feed Ricky. "The next night, Henry calls me for an order. This was unusual because he was generally a once-a-week guy. I also found it unusual that he ordered a meat lovers' pizza instead of his usual supreme. I took it, made it, and 20 minutes later Henry called again apologetically to cancel it. I say OK. In a bizarre coincidence, Ricky rolled in right around that time asking for a pizza. I just so had one that was going to go uneaten sitting under the heater."
Representative Image Source: Pexels I Photo by Pixabay
The so-called "coincidence" soon started to take place every night as the user narrated, "Henry would call, order a meat lovers' pizza, and I'd make it. Henry would then call again and cancel and Ricky would coincidentally roll in. Every night, same time. You could time it to the second. This went on for months." Unfortunately, the clever scheme finally came to an end after one of his colleagues snitched on him and reported the full story to the manager. In the end, the user shared that the restaurant went under about a year later.
The heartwarming post went viral and gained around 8.5k upvotes with over 200 comments. u/Ashshaun commented, "Good people doing good for the sake of being good. I love it. Besides if a business can't cover the loss of 1 pizza a day (when most pizza places will give their employees free food anyway) they don't deserve to be in business." Another Reddit user expressed, "This. I've had to deal with homeless people more than a few times when I worked retail. You want a meal? I got you. I just wish I could have helped more. They usually have some nasty problems."
You can tell a lot about a country from its currency. In Suffolk, England, at the site of a future nuclear power station, archaeologists were granted a "rare and fascinating glimpse" into the region’s history after unearthing a bundle of coins dating back to the 11th century.
At the Sizewell C (SZC) development area, Oxford Cotswold Archaeology unearthed a lead-wrapped package—possibly a purse—filled with 321 mint-condition silver coins issued between 1036 and 1044. The hoard has a contemporary value of 320 pence, which OCA says would have been a "significant amount of money" at the time and probably belonged to someone of "local clout, perhaps a wealthy farmer," as opposed to someone of "national importance or super-elite status." It’s unclear why the stash was never retrieved.
OCA writes that the coins were issued during the reigns of three English kings, Harold I ("Harefoot"), Harthacnut, and Edward the Confessor, with the vast majority from the former. The most recent coins, created at the beginning of the Edwardian era, are all of the "PACX type," from between the summer of 1042 and 1044. There are four total designs present, also including the "Jewel Cross" and "Fleur-de-Lys" from Harold I, and the "Arm-and-Sceptre" from Harthacnut. OCA notes that coins were often reissued with design changes—partly to protect against forgery, partly to create a fresh supply of coinage, and partly as a taxation method.
Andrew Pegg, the archaeologist who found the coins, told the BBC he was physically "shaking" upon the discovery, calling the hoard a "perfect archaeological time capsule." He added, "The information we are learning from it is stunning and I'm so proud to have added to the history of my own little part of Suffolk."
Damian Leydon, the site delivery director at Sizewell C, said the project offers "a rare and fascinating glimpse into Suffolk’s rich history, deepening our understanding of this part of Britain." They plan to partner with the OCA to make the discoveries "as accessible to the public as possible."
Ancient currency is a fascinating way to view history, preserving elements of culture and government. Writer Cory Frewing talked about this for The Geographical Bulletin, a scholarly double-blind peer-reviewed journal out of Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), the International Geography Honor Society, in 2020, noting, "[C]oinage can be utilized for pursuing nationalistic ambitions and other centripetal forces that strengthen a State. Likewise, coins can also act as preservers and conveyers of national culture. Religion, language, values, and history have all been prominent subjects on coins from around the world since the Classical Era."
One of my favorite examples is the Roman "EID MAR" (or "Ides of March"), a rare issue of the famous denarius coin by Marcus Junius Brutus following the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC—a major event in human history. One of these was actually sold in 2023 for a record price of $720,000.
According to the United States Mint, the Coinage Act of 1792 designated that all coins must have an "'impression emblematic of liberty,’ the inscription 'LIBERTY,' and the year of coinage on the obverse side." The reverse of gold and silver coins needed to feature an eagle along with the inscription "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." The 1792 "half disme," widely considered the first U.S. coin produced under the Coinage Act, featured a portrait of a woman on the front with the inscription "LIB PAR OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY (meaning "Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry"). This predates the Latin phrase "E PLURIBUS UNUM" ("Out of many, one"), introduced in 1795, or "IN GOD WE TRUST," which first appeared in 1864.
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The Bride & Her Girls | Missy, Stephanie (Maid of Honor) and… | Flickr
The privilege (and the pressure) that comes along with being asked to be the maid/matron of honor or the best man at a wedding is immense. You've got parties to plan, rings to keep track of, and most importantly, speeches to make that will hopefully inspire love in a roomful of friends and family.
So, when that speech lands with the crowd in a less-than-desirable way, it can be difficult for the anxious bride and/or groom. Whether it's nerves, too many tequila shots, or just plain poor planning, it's something to which many of us can relate.
Now, there are times when no amount of nerves or alcohol can account for a speech so terrible. But if there is a silver lining, it's likely that it gave the entire wedding party and guests something to bond over.
Many Redditors shared their cringe-inducing but very funny maid of honor experiences, and they absolutely do not disappoint.
One person posted a thread titled, "Maid of Honor speech gave me physical cringe." They describe a woman who seemed to have issues with not being the center of attention in her family. She was quite vocal about how she truly felt about her sister—the bride.
"Honestly, we’ve heard enough about my sister for one day. I’m a little sick of it.”
She then outed her sister's pregnancy, which, according to the Redditor, no one knew about except the bride and groom. "I can’t wait to meet the little one." Gasp.
Understandably, the comment section was active. Many even wondered why family members are often automatically put in the wedding party. One shared, "This is why I'm a firm believer that siblings/family do not get an automatic spot in the bridal party. Of course, thankfully, this tradition is dying down, and most siblings in the bridal party were chosen to be there."
In another Reddit thread entitled, "The worst speeches I've ever heard" on the subreddit "Wedding Shaming," people share their brilliantly awkward speech horror stories.
One user shares this strange gem: "At the last wedding I went to, the Maid of Honor very, very obviously loved the bride as more than a friend. The words 'love story for the ages' were used. She also mentioned how it would be them in a different lifetime. She openly wept at the idea of her husband having her for the rest of their lives without the Maid of Honor. It was awkward."
Everyone's great except the groom
The Groom - The Wedding Of Christell & Jon - Hestercombe G… | Flickrwww.flickr.com
Another user shared, "My sister made a horrible speech at my other sister's wedding. The groom's brother made his speech first. It was exactly what you would want—warm, funny, talked about their childhood, how they grew into adults, and the like. My sister was next, and right off the bat, she made an unfunny joke insulting the groom. She insulted the groom a few more times, insulted me, and extremely overplayed her relationship with our sister."
E-Bay or E-Harmony?
eBay | eBay, Gift Card, 1/2015 by Mike Mozart of TheToyChann… | Flickrwww.flickr.com
It's not always the Maid of Honor. Sometimes, it's the officiant. Someone commented, "How about this one: The couple has been married before, both divorced, and she has one son. The wedding official at city hall said in his speech, 'You have told me you two found each other on E-Bay. Well, that figures, because that's where you find used stuff, right?—Oooh, it was a dating site! My bad!'"
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How your perceive your time alone could impact your perception of it.
A new University of Michigan experiment published in Cognition & Emotion is showing that sometimes labels do matter. They have found that people who are experiencing solitude are less lonely when they refer to it as “me-time” rather than “isolation.” They have found that just labeling it as “me-time” improves the person’s perceptions and boosts positive feelings, regardless of where the lonely period is taking place or any activity being done.
In two separate studies, Micaela Rodriguez and Scott W. Campbell examined how “me-time,” “isolation,” and other terms used to describe time alone impacted a person’s emotions, behavior, and perception during their solo experiences. The first study had 500 U.S. adults assigned to one of five labels to describe alone time: me-time, time alone, solitude, being alone, or isolation. Each person’s rating on their assigned term was based on several aspects, including how positive or negative the term itself felt, the perception of that term’s impact on a person’s well-being, and whether the participant would actively seek out or avoid that type of alone time. The participants were also encouraged to share their experiences associated with the term they were assigned. The results revealed significant differences among the terms, with “isolation” being the less desirable and “me-time” being the most sought after, given that the latter time is implied and associated with other terms such as “self-care” and “relaxation” while “isolation” leaned more towards social exclusion.
What is good alone time versus unhealthy alone time?Photo credit: Canva
The second study had 145 undergrad students complete a survey measuring their baseline beliefs about alone time and its association with self-esteem, loneliness, and social support. They were then randomly placed into a 30-minute period of solitude framed either as “me-tme” or “isolation.” These sessions were in a self-selected location in which the participants weren’t allowed to use their phones or the internet, but could do non-social activities such as writing, reading, or drawing. After their solo session was completed, they rated their emotions and the experience, while describing the thoughts they had during their experience alone. They then reassessed the beliefs they had about alone time prior to the session. The results found that the participants who were told to have “me-time” had more positive feedback than the people who were told to have 30 minutes of “isolation,” even though there was no difference between the two in the study other than linguistics. Many of the “me-time” participants did the same activities during their alone time as the “isolated” participants, but there was still a difference in how they perceived their sessions.
So what does this mean? Many folks who spend a lot of time on their own might be wondering if it’s healthy for them, especially those who enjoy it. Knowing that the right labeling of their alone time could impact their outlook on it, but at the same time there are studies out there showing that living alone and lack of social interaction increases the risk of depression and dementia in adults. So positive or negative labeling aside, what is healthy “me-time” and unhealthy “isolation”?
Exercising by yourself could be good for your body and mind.Photo credit: Canva
Well, it kind of depends on the purpose of your alone time. There are benefits to it, such as taking moments of self-reflection and letting your brain defragment/decompress. “Healthy” alone time can include working out, reading, doing something creative like painting or sculpting, or spiritual practices like meditation or prayer.
In terms of “unhealthy” alone time, well, that depends. It’s not the same amount for everyone given the different reasons for alone time and a person’s personality. However, a general metric is that folks that spend over 75% of their time alone tend to be experiencing loneliness rather than enjoying or working in solitude. If you turn down an invitation from friends, ask yourself why. If its due to a lack of confidence or a negative self image, that’s different than turning it down because you’re “peopled out.” If you are experiencing heavy periods of alone time and find yourself spending it in bed, thinking negatively about it, or experiencing negative self-talk during it, just labeling it as “me-time” probably won’t remove those issues.
How you spend your alone time could indicate whether it is healthy.Photo credit: Canva
If you are indeed experiencing loneliness, you may want to reach out to friends and family to shake things up in your routine by scheduling a lunch or doing a needed errand together. If that doesn’t feel possible, many people consult a therapist or counselor that can help create a plan to reduce loneliness or find its root source. In short, it may be helpful to reflect upon what you’re experiencing when you’re by yourself to see if it's beneficial for you.
Whatever the case, the fact is that when it comes to feeling alone, you’re not alone.
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Representative Image Source: Sectional view of the Earth, showing central fire and underground canals linked to oceans, 1665. From Mundus Subterraneous by Athanasius Kircher. (Photo by Oxford Science Archive/Print Collector/Getty Images)
Representative Image Source: Pexels | NASA
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bridesmaids really bitch GIF
File:King Penguin threesome on the beach (5849332386).jpg ...
The Groom - The Wedding Of Christell & Jon - Hestercombe G… | Flickr
eBay | eBay, Gift Card, 1/2015 by Mike Mozart of TheToyChann… | Flickr
