Complete Story
 

03/26/2019

Why Eating Alone Is the Most Underrated Self-care Ritual

It doesn’t have to be awkward or intimidating

I was enjoying a bagel, on a park bench by myself, when I first read the news about eating alone. It was delivered to me in an email, with the subject line: “biggest single factor for unhappiness: eating alone.” That’s ironic, I thought to myself, and took another bite of my bagel and schmear. 

The email was sent from a colleague, and explained how eating alone has a stronger link to being unhappy than any factor other than mental illness, according to research from Oxford Economics and the National Center for Social Research. 

For me, the data couldn’t be farther from the truth. Eating at a cafe with a book, or grabbing a seat at a bar alone is a self-care ritual I cherish. But I get why other people don’t like it. Perhaps they’re scared of what other people will think, or what their inner thoughts will reveal when there’s no one around to distract them. 

Please select this link to read the complete article from Thrive Global.

Printer-Friendly Version