between 1985 and 2004 in the number of

between 1985 and 2004 in the number of Americans who reported no one with whom to discuss important matters.'© We are a meaning-making species, and relationships that offer security, comfort, trust, and pleasure, even if interactions are relatively infrequent, are much more effective at fostering a sense of connectedness and belonging than are more friends or more frequent interactions that fail to meet these standards. The challenge, especially for those of us who live in Western society, is to recognize that the invisible force of social connectedness has benefits for health and well-being that we ignore at our peril. Conclusion The research on loneliness highlights the need for and benefits of human connections, but it speaks even more directly to the role of beliefs about our connections. Loneliness, after all, is not about how many social relationships a person has, but is about a belief that the existing social relationships fail to satisfy a desired sense of social connectedness. All human relationships have a tangible existence in physical interactions and an invisible existence in mental representations and beliefs. This human capacity expands the range of possible relationships. For instance, humans form meaningful connections with pets, with television characters whom they have never met, and with deities who lack a material existence. We have seen the health impact of the invisible force of loneliness; do different kinds of invisible forces have different effects? References 1. Buechner, F. (1977). Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale (p. 3). Page |47 New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Caspi, A., Harrington, H., Moffitt, T.E., Milne, B.J., & Poulton, R. (2006). Socially isolated children 20 years later. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 160, 805-811. Sugisawa, H., Liang, J., & Liu, X. (1994). Social networks, social support, and mortality among older people in Japan. Journal of Gerontology, 49, S3- 13, Cheng, S. (1992). Loneliness- distress and physician utilization in well-elderly females. Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 43-56; Geller, J., Janson, P., McGovern, E., & Valdini, A. (1999). Loneliness as a predictor of hospital emergency department use. The Journal of Family Practice, 48, 801-804. . Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2007). Aging and loneliness: Downhill quickly? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 187-191. . Hawkley, L. C., Hughes, M. E., Waite, L., J., Masi, C. M., Thisted, R. A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2008). From social structural factors to perceptions of relationship quality and loneliness: The Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 63B, S375-S384. Cacioppo, J. T., & Patrick, B. (2008). Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. . Hawkley, L. C., Thisted, R. A., Masi, C. M., & Cacioppo, J. T. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021293