{"id":11898,"date":"2024-08-27T09:01:48","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T09:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=11898"},"modified":"2024-08-27T09:24:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T09:24:23","slug":"dr-ruths-the-joy-of-connections-offers-her-final-advice-on-loneliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=11898","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Ruth\u2019s \u2018The Joy of Connections\u2019 Offers Her Final Advice on Loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">In \u2018The Joy of Connections,\u2019 a book set to publish shortly after her death at 96, America\u2019s best-known sex therapist offered practical strategies for anyone feeling lonely.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Toward the end of her life, America\u2019s best-known sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer stopped talking so much about sexual dysfunction and started talking about another topic often shrouded in shame: loneliness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She had, she believed, the perfect credentials to take on <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/11\/09\/nyregion\/dr-ruth-loneliness-ambassador.html\" title>our ongoing loneliness epidemic<\/a>. A German Jewish refugee whose parents died during the Holocaust, she had been divorced twice, and then widowed. Dr. Ruth understood loneliness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But she also believed her training as a sex therapist helped her address the humiliation that loneliness can cause.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNobody is excited to admit they\u2019re having difficulty in the bedroom,\u201d Dr. Ruth wrote in \u201cThe Joy of Connections,\u201d her final book, which will publish on Sept. 3 \u2014 less than two months after <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/13\/arts\/television\/ruth-westheimer-dead.html\" title>her death at 96<\/a>. \u201cNobody is thrilled to confess they have too few reliable friends. Shame is the thread that connects them both, and shame is what I\u2019ve always tried to help people overcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe Joy of Connections\u201d is, essentially, a list of 100 strategies for building stronger bonds, all shaped by Dr. Ruth\u2019s belief that loneliness is nothing to be ashamed of, and by her intolerance for wallowing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cYou can,\u201d she insisted, \u201cmake the decision that being lonely is no longer an option.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cShe\u2019s all about agency,\u201d said Allison Gilbert, one of two authors with whom Dr. Ruth wrote her new book. \u201cShe\u2019s all about taking steps to get to where you want to go, and not waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F27%2Fwell%2Fdr-ruth-lessons-the-joy-of-connections.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F27%2Fwell%2Fdr-ruth-lessons-the-joy-of-connections.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F27%2Fwell%2Fdr-ruth-lessons-the-joy-of-connections.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F27%2Fwell%2Fdr-ruth-lessons-the-joy-of-connections.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In \u2018The Joy of Connections,\u2019 a book set to publish shortly after her death at 96, America\u2019s best-known sex therapist offered practical strategies for anyone feeling lonely.Toward the end of her life, America\u2019s best-known sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer stopped talking so much about sexual dysfunction and started talking about another topic often shrouded in shame: loneliness.She had, she believed, the perfect credentials to take on our ongoing loneliness epidemic. A German Jewish refugee whose parents died during the Holocaust, she had been divorced twice, and then widowed. Dr. Ruth understood loneliness.But she also believed her training as a sex therapist helped her address the humiliation that loneliness can cause.\u201cNobody is excited to admit they\u2019re having difficulty in the bedroom,\u201d Dr. Ruth wrote in \u201cThe Joy of Connections,\u201d her final book, which will publish on Sept. 3 \u2014 less than two months after her death at 96. \u201cNobody is thrilled to confess they have too few reliable friends. Shame is the thread that connects them both, and shame is what I\u2019ve always tried to help people overcome.\u201d\u201cThe Joy of Connections\u201d is, essentially, a list of 100 strategies for building stronger bonds, all shaped by Dr. Ruth\u2019s belief that loneliness is nothing to be ashamed of, and by her intolerance for wallowing.\u201cYou can,\u201d she insisted, \u201cmake the decision that being lonely is no longer an option.\u201d\u201cShe\u2019s all about agency,\u201d said Allison Gilbert, one of two authors with whom Dr. Ruth wrote her new book. \u201cShe\u2019s all about taking steps to get to where you want to go, and not waiting.\u201dWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11900,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11898"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11901,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898\/revisions\/11901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}