New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) A new book by noted mental health experts provides insights into the problem of loneliness, where it emerges from, how it affects people -- their mental health and overall well-being.

"Alone in the crowd: Overcoming Loneliness of Urban Living", co-authored by Dr Samir Parikh and psychologist Kamna Chibber from Fortis Healthcare, is published by Rupa Publications.

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"We recognize that there is a growing disconnect that many people experience within their families, communities and workplaces. This has a strong negative impact on their sense of well-being and can be a precursor towards the development of mental health related problems.

"As a result, it is critically important that we emphasize the development of approaches to combat this state of loneliness," said Parikh, presently serving as the director, Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Fortis Healthcare.

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The book claims to explore the spaces from which the problem of urban loneliness arises, and portrays in detail the facets of our lives which are contributing towards the emergence of this scenario.

According to the co-author Chibber, a "multi-stakeholder approach" needs to be adopted to reduce the growing burden of mental health which stems from loneliness and other related issues.

"It's time that people and societies come forward to discuss the much-ignored issue, which has engulfed the society be it children, adolescents, adults and the old generation," said Chibber, currently the head, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences at Fortis Healthcare.

“The book has been written to help develop a comprehensive understanding of where loneliness can stem from and the ways in which people can engage in caring for themselves, while focusing on living more mindfully in the urban spaces they occupy," she explained.

In "Alone in the Crowd", as per the publishers, the authors go beyond highlighting the existence of the problem to enlisting ways in which this pandemic, in the midst of the current pandemic, can be tackled.

"It encourages readers to concurrently focus on the need to live mindfully, this book also highlights key learnings from the pandemic," said a statement from the publishers.

The book is presently available for sale on offline and online stores.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)