Guest:
Jee eun Kang is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State. She received my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies in 2023. Her research explores how social relationships, particularly experiences like loneliness, affect daily cognitive and emotional functioning across adulthood and aging. Kang uses innovative data collection methods, such as ecological momentary assessment, and advanced statistical modeling to understand these real-time processes.
Episode Transcript:
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: We all know that stress can wear us down, but we may focus more on trying to mitigate stress than thinking about our ability to recover from it. And it turns out loneliness can slow that recovery in ways that impact both our emotional and physical health. I'm Lindsey Whissel Fenton with 12 Degrees on WPSU. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jee Eun Kang, a researcher at Penn State whose work explores the links between loneliness, emotional resilience, and long-term well-being. You found that loneliness can extend how long someone feels stressed after a tough moment. Can you explain why that matters for our health?
JEE EUN KANG: So, when we are stressed, our body kicks into gear to help us respond to challenges. That's helpful in the short term, but if the stress response stays on for too long, it can wear us down physically and mentally. In our study, we looked at whether loneliness was linked to daily stress experiences. What we found was that lonely people experience more daily stressors than those who are not lonely. And while both groups had similar increases in negative emotions when stressors occurred, the lonely individual still had elevated negative emotions a few hours later.
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: How do you define loneliness in your work and why is that important in research?
JEE EUN KANG: We define loneliness as the perceived gap between the social relationships someone wants and what they actually have, both in quantity and quality. From an evolutionary perspective, loneliness acts like a signal, like physical pain that tells us we need to reconnect. To increase the chances of survival. But ironically, it can also make people more hypervigilant and self-protective, leading them to withdraw more.
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: How does loneliness differ from depression?
JEE EUN KANG: Loneliness and depression do overlap, but they're not the same. Loneliness often comes first, and if it lasts long enough, loneliness can lead to depression, although there are many other factors. That's why it's so important to study loneliness on its own, because it can be a warning sign of the per struggles ahead, like depression.
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: What can we do to better support emotional recovery, either for ourselves or for those who might be quietly struggling with loneliness?
JEE EUN KANG: I think we need to focus on emotional connection and healthy coping strategies. I wanted to really highlight that lonely people tend to expect and interpret social situations more negatively. They often feel more anxious about social interactions. This kind of reinforced isolation. So, for anyone struggling with loneliness, talk to yourself kindly and keep reminding yourself. If you are worried about rejection or what others might think, it's likely a biased perception. It's not reality. And then if you know someone who seems isolated, let them know they are value. Tell them how much you enjoy their presence and how they make your life better. You know, even a small gesture like text, like smile or shared activities can make a real difference.
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: That was Dr. Jee Eun Kang, a researcher at Penn State whose work explores the links between loneliness, emotional resilience and long-term well-being. This interview is part of 12 Degrees, a program and podcast from PSU in collaboration with the Penn State Nese College of Nursing. Learn more at wellness.psu.edu. I'm Lindsey Whissel Fenton, WPSU.
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This is a clip from a longer conversation. To listen to the full episode, visit:
