You Are Not A Statistic
In these short weekly notes, you’ll find:
The Well—something I’ve learned about living wildly AND well
The Wild—words from extraordinary minds who struggled with mental health too
The Way—one small experiment for you to try
The Well
The loneliness epidemic is real. The data is valid. But notice how we talk about it—or rather, how we’re told about it—like weather. Like a fog rolling in. Like something that just happens to a population, and you're part of the population, so it must be happening to you. Inevitable. Unsolvable. What a shame, but…oh well.
Here's what I’ve been thinking: an epidemic is a statistic. You are not a statistic. You're one person who gets to make choices about how you live.
Yes, there are forces working against real connection—algorithms that profit from your isolation, endless coverage telling you how doomed we all are.
And underneath all of it, a placebo: the appearance of connection that tricks your brain into thinking it's being fed. Notifications. Likes. The illusion of contact. You stop seeking the real thing. You're not hungry anymore. Except you are. You're starving.
But accepting a collective diagnosis as your personal fate is a choice. And you, ever rebellious, can make a different one. One where you’re not the passive victim of a well-designed crisis—and where you opt out of any narrative that says you are.
The Wild
"Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals." — Oscar Wilde
"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." — Albert Camus
"I will not adjust myself to the world. I am adjusted to myself." — Anaïs Nin
The Way
Try this tiny rebellion: The next time you feel lonely, notice what you reach for—and how you feel after. More connected, or just distracted? If it’s the latter, ask yourself what the real thing would look like right now, and do the smallest version of that instead.
And, as always, if you find it difficult to take this time for yourself (as I often do), do it for Anaïs.
Do it for Albert.
Do it for Oscar.
Stay stark raving sane,
~ EA
P.S. Here’s another tiny rebellion: show up live with me and hundreds of your fellow Inmates this Sunday, January 25th at 2 P.M. EST, for the free Group Oracle Reading! Register here to reserve your place.
