Loneliness is one of the most common human experiences.
You might be surrounded by people yet feel profoundly disconnected. You might scroll through social media watching everyone else's seemingly perfect connections while feeling increasingly isolated. You might be navigating a new environment, recovering from a relationship ending, or simply wondering why building meaningful friendships feels so difficult.
Loneliness isn't a personal failing. It's a universal human experience—and it's reaching epidemic proportions.
Sources: U.S. Surgeon General Advisory (May 2023), Gallup World Poll (142 countries, 2022), Cigna Group Report (2021), Recent Gallup Polls
In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared loneliness a public health epidemic, citing its profound impact on physical health, mental wellbeing, and life expectancy. Countries including the United Kingdom and Japan have appointed Ministers of Loneliness to address this crisis. The World Health Organization released a 2025 report titled "From loneliness to social connection: charting a path to healthier societies."
But here's the hopeful truth: loneliness is not a life sentence. It's a signal—and you can learn to respond to it.
This isn't just a global crisis happening "somewhere else." It's happening right here, right now, in our own community.
The Stellenbosch University Baseline Survey for Incoming First-Years (SUBSIFY) reveals concerning trends across 2021-2023 (N=9,710 students):
Every single social connection indicator worsened from 2021 to 2023. This isn't a statistical anomaly—it's a sustained, accelerating trend affecting real students.
The SU Wellbeing, Culture and Climate at Work Survey (2019-2023) asked over 1,000 staff members annually: "How lonely do you feel at work?" (0=not at all, 10=completely)
Average Score: 4.21/10 (2023) — up from 4.07 in 2019
Behind this average are real people:
These aren't just numbers—they're your classmates sitting alone in the dining hall, your lecturer who feels invisible despite years of service, your colleague who dreads coming to campus because work feels isolating.
Connected: Your Journey from Loneliness to Belonging to Flourishing is a comprehensive, research-validated program that transforms how you understand and overcome loneliness. Developed by Dr. Alten du Plessis (known as "Dr Flourish" among students) through Stellenbosch University's Division for Institutional Strategy, Research and Analytics, this course provides 21 evidence-based tools that guide you from isolation to authentic connection.
This isn't generic advice to "just put yourself out there." This is rigorous intervention based on decades of research on human connection, translated into practical, accessible tools.
Starting university should be exciting. But it can also be overwhelmingly lonely.
You've left behind familiar faces and comfortable friendships. You're surrounded by thousands of people but don't know how to connect. Everyone else seems to have figured out the social scene while you eat lunch alone. You wonder if you're the only one struggling.
You're not. The transition to university disrupts established social networks, and building new connections in an unfamiliar environment requires skills many of us were never taught.
This course gives you:
You don't have to navigate this transition alone.
You made it past first year. You've settled into routines. But something's missing.
Maybe your friendships feel surface-level—lots of acquaintances, no real connection. Maybe your study group partners aren't actually friends. Maybe you feel disconnected from campus life despite being physically present. Maybe the pandemic disrupted the social connections you'd built and you haven't recovered them.
Loneliness doesn't discriminate by year level. Meaningful connection requires intentional cultivation—it doesn't happen automatically just because you're in the same physical space as others.
This course helps you:
It's not too late to build the university experience you deserve.
You're supposed to be the put-together one. The successful professional. The role model.
But inside, you might feel profoundly disconnected. You interact with hundreds of people daily yet feel like no one truly knows you. You moved to Stellenbosch for this position and haven't built real friendships. You're exhausted by pandemic-era isolation that never quite lifted. You wonder if admitting loneliness would undermine your professional credibility.
Professional success and personal loneliness frequently coexist. High-achieving professionals are often particularly vulnerable to loneliness—the very demands of career success can prevent the vulnerability required for authentic connection.
This course offers you:
Your loneliness is valid. Your need for connection is human. And you deserve support.
Loneliness doesn't respect institutional boundaries or age limits.
Whether you're navigating post-university transitions, career changes, relocations, relationship endings, parenthood, or retirement—life transitions can trigger loneliness at any stage. The friendship skills that worked at 20 don't necessarily translate to 40 or 60.
This course provides:
Connection is a fundamental human need. This course helps you meet it.
Every tool in this course is grounded in peer-reviewed research on loneliness intervention. The content draws from:
This is intervention grounded in research, not just advice that sounds good.
Most loneliness resources address one dimension—maybe social skills, maybe self-esteem, maybe cognitive patterns. Connected addresses all dimensions through 21 integrated tools:
You get a complete system, not isolated techniques.
Each of the 21 tools follows a three-phase "Grok, Gauge & Grow, Track" process:
You don't just read about connection—you actively build it through structured exercises with immediate application.
All responses are confidential. No one sees your reflections except you. This creates a judgment-free space for honest self-exploration without fear of professional, social, or academic consequences.
You can be completely honest about the depth of your loneliness, your fears, your struggles—because this space is yours alone.
Through this comprehensive journey, you'll develop:
Assess your current experience, personality influences, and coping patterns
Develop self-worth, emotional awareness, and healthy relationship with solitude
Build practical skills and cognitive strategies for confident social engagement
Get socially active, map your network, navigate transitions, build daily habits
Deepen friendships, build values-aligned relationships, develop resilience
Synthesize everything into your customized roadmap forward
This course builds on decades of research by leading scientists and authors whose work has shaped our understanding of loneliness and connection:
And many more leading researchers whose work informs every tool in this course.
Time commitment: 10-14 hours of self-paced work across 21 tools
Recommended timeline: 6-8 weeks for optimal skill integration and real-world practice
Access: Unlimited—complete at your own pace, return anytime
Privacy: Completely confidential—only you see your responses
Cost: [TO BE DETERMINED - potentially free for Stellenbosch University community]
No. This is educational intervention based on therapeutic principles. It's not a substitute for professional mental health treatment but can complement therapy or serve as self-directed development for common experiences of loneliness.
Most tools take 20-40 minutes. You can complete them whenever convenient—early morning, late night, between classes, during lunch breaks. There are no deadlines or required schedules.
The course addresses multiple dimensions of loneliness: social (lacking friendships), emotional (lacking intimate connection), existential (lacking purpose), transitional (life changes), and more. The assessments help you understand your specific pattern.
These tools are based on interventions that have been studied in research contexts. However, real change requires honest engagement with the material and real-world practice of new skills—the tools provide the roadmap, but you walk the path.
This course doesn't try to turn introverts into extroverts. It helps you build connection in ways aligned with your personality and energy needs. Module 2 includes tools on healthy solitude—recognizing that alone time can be restorative, not isolating.
Yes. Module 3 specifically addresses social confidence and includes cognitive strategies for managing anxiety. However, if your anxiety is severe enough to prevent daily functioning, we recommend combining this course with professional support.
Absolutely. All your responses are confidential. Only you can see your assessments, reflections, and action plans.
While this course provides evidence-based tools for common loneliness experiences, it's not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you're experiencing severe depression, thoughts of self-harm, or other clinical concerns, please seek support from a qualified mental health professional. This course can complement professional treatment but should not replace it when clinical care is needed.
"I've spent two decades researching and implementing positive psychology interventions in university settings. I've seen how loneliness undermines academic success, wellbeing, and human flourishing—and I've also seen how evidence-based intervention can transform lives.
This course represents the synthesis of that work—rigorous research translated into accessible, practical tools designed to help people overcome one of the most painful human experiences.
If you're experiencing loneliness, please know: it's not your fault, it's not permanent, and you don't have to figure it out alone. These 21 tools will guide you from isolation to belonging to flourishing.
Your connection journey starts here."
Your journey from loneliness to belonging to flourishing is 21 tools away.
Connected is currently in a free pilot period for Stellenbosch University staff and students. Spaces are limited — enroll now to secure your spot.
ENROLL IN CONNECTED — IT'S FREELimited places available during the pilot period
Contact: [email protected]
Platform: FlourishIQ (www.flourishiq.co.za)
Developed by: Integrated Data Analytics Team, Institutional Strategy, Research and Analytics, Stellenbosch University
Countries around the world have recognized loneliness as significant enough to appoint Ministers of Loneliness and establish national happiness initiatives. We believe every individual deserves access to evidence-based support for overcoming isolation and building authentic connection. Connected is our contribution to addressing this challenge—one person at a time.
Dr Alten du Plessis — Well-being & Student Success & Development Strategist
Integrated Data Analytics Team, Institutional Strategy, Research & Analytics, Stellenbosch University
Academic: PhD in Applied Mathematics, Stellenbosch University
Positive Psychology & Flourishing (The Flourishing Center, New York):
Certificate for Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP) · Certified Flourishing Skill Group Trainer (FSG™) · Certified Bouncing Back Better Resilience Trainer (B³)
Coaching Certifications (Spencer Institute):
Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) · Certified Sports Psychology Coach (CSPC) · Certified Sports Hypnosis Coach
Sports Performance:
Golf Psychology Coaching Certificate · Certified McMillan Running Coach
Brain Health (Amen Clinics):
Certified Brain Health Coach · Licensed Brain Trainer