Loneliness, especially for the elderly, has been one of the toughest fallouts from the coronavirus pandemic.
The nonprofit organization DOROT held an online fireside chat Tuesday to reveal some secrets to find happiness during the crisis.
News 12's Tara Rosenblum emceed the event virtually and interviewed New York Times reporter and best-selling author John Leland.
Leland spent a year following a group of seniors over the age of 85 before writing a book about happiness.
He went into detail Tuesday about the challenges of combating social isolation for seniors and offered up some tips on how to live a more fulfilled life.
DOROT says that research shows social isolation has an impact on mortality equal to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Tips offered at the event included to comfort loved ones, handwriting notes to loved ones and mailing them during the pandemic, regularly calling loved ones who are elderly and scheduling weekly Zoom calls so they have something to look forward to.
Tips for those who are elderly include joining virtual events, getting in touch with DOROT and learning about its programming, practicing gratefulness for the small things in life that bring simple joys and making peace with death being the final destination for all of us.