Connected Lives Series. The Hidden Epidemic: When the Waters Stopped Flowing

Connected Lives Series. The Hidden Epidemic: When the Waters Stopped Flowing

Class | Registration opens 8/31/2026 8:58 AM EDT

9/17/2026 (one day)
10:00 AM-11:00 AM EDT on Th
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$28.00
$16.00

Connected Lives Series. The Hidden Epidemic: When the Waters Stopped Flowing

Class | Registration opens 8/31/2026 8:58 AM EDT

Registration deadline: Sep. 9th

Connected Lives is a series of lectures exploring how loneliness and isolation have emerged as the most significant public health challenges of our time. This engaging nine-part lecture series explores the science, psychology, and sociology of human connection. Students may sign up for any or all of the courses as desired. Each session is a standalone course.

What happens when the relationships that sustain us begin to disappear? This opening lecture introduces the epidemic of loneliness and isolation as one of the defining challenges of modern life. Using the story of Oshun as a framework, participants will explore how disconnection affects physical health, mental well-being, and quality of life across generations. Drawing on research from the U.S. Surgeon General and leading social scientists, this session establishes why human connection is not simply a social luxury but a fundamental human need and community responsibility.

Participants will learn to:

  • Distinguish between loneliness, social isolation, and solitude
  • Recognize the health consequences of chronic loneliness
  • Understand how loneliness affects individuals and communities across generations
  • Reflect on the role connection plays in personal and community well-being.

With over 17 years of experience in the mental health field, Thasia Awad is a licensed Master’s Level Clinical Social Worker who provides compassionate, individualized care to individuals and families navigating a wide range of emotional and relational challenges. Her clinical areas of expertise include trauma-informed care, complex trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, relationship conflict, self-esteem and identity, social-emotional learning, and life skills development


  

  • About Thasia Awad's Connected Lives Lecture Series

    Connected Lives: Reclaiming the Waters of Human Connection
    The Science and Practice of Human Connection, Finding Community & Purpose in the Age of the Loneliness Epidemic

    Loneliness and isolation has emerged as one of the most significant public health challenges of our time. Drawing on the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, this engaging nine-part lecture series explores the science, psychology, and sociology of human connection. Through research, storytelling, discussion, and practical application, participants will examine how loneliness and isolation affects individuals and communities and discover evidence-based strategies for creating deeper relationships and stronger communities. Using the timeless Yoruba story of Oshun as a guiding metaphor, the series invites learners to explore what happens when the waters of connection run dry and how they can help restore them.   
Thasia Awad

With over 17 years of experience in the mental health field, Thasia Awad is a licensed Master’s Level Clinical Social Worker who provides compassionate, individualized care to individuals and families navigating a wide range of emotional and relational challenges. Her clinical areas of expertise include trauma-informed care, complex trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, relationship conflict, self-esteem and identity, social-emotional learning, and life skills development.