Welcome back to Take Care!

As a reminder, this is a weekly newsletter covering all things caretaking and the often outsized role it plays in women’s lives. In some editions, we explore the ways women are often expected to care for others. But we also think it’s important to focus on how we care for ourselves – and this week’s edition is an especially important kind of self-care. 

There may be no greater human need than connecting with other people. Think of just how good you feel after a long afternoon of messing around with your friends. And when you compare that to an afternoon running errands by yourself…or even hanging around at home alone? 

No contest. Connecting with people who get you is an unparalleled boost to your physical and mental health.

Today’s Topic: The loneliness epidemic and how to stay connected 

You may have heard some chatter in the news about an epidemic of loneliness. It may sound like a punchline, but it’s actually a public health challenge that’s reached a point where the U.S. Surgeon General is issuing warnings about the dangers of an increasingly isolated population. 

Maybe you’ve experienced this yourself. Between remote work, the decline of community institutions, and a delivery-oriented retail economy, your life has likely become a bit more solitary over the years, especially during the Covid pandemic. 

We’re not here to bum you out about all this – we want to give you concrete tools that we hope will lessen the burden of a lonely world.

Care-fully Selected Product Recs 

• Every product and service listed in this section is independently chosen by us, Take Care’s highly discerning editors Maya and Eliza. We have two rules for our recommendations: We only recommend things we’d use ourselves, and we don’t earn a commission from these links — we just want you to have the best of the best. No, seriously. 

  • Happy Planner: An infinitely customizable daily planner to keep you organized while you’re getting involved.

  • The Golden app enables you to find and share volunteer opportunities.

  • These long-distance friendship lamps from Uncommon Goods light up when your friend or loved one is thinking about you. What could be sweeter?

News you can use

What we’re reading.

• How to review your pill regimen with your doctor. You don’t want to find yourself in a “prescribing cascade” where your meds are multiplying as you add ever more pills to remedy side effects. 

• All about the rollout of Oregon’s new Family Connects program, which gives new parents one to three free visits from a registered nurse. 

• What people mean when they call Kamala Harris a “DEI candidate.” At the risk of ruining the mystery, they’re being racist jerks.

• The crucial difference between fitness and health, from a former Olympic gymnast.

• Hailey Bieber talks pregnancy and soaking up time with Justin before parenthood to W Magazine.