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People who live alone tend to spend a lot of time alone and are often lonely. In The Lonely American: Drifting Apart in the Twenty-first Century, psychiatrists Jacqueline Olds and Richard Schwartz describe how hard it is for people to admit their loneliness. The myth of the self-reliant independent person is a pervasive American story. The authors devote a full chapter discussing the living arrangement of and with great concern note the growing trend toward living alone. They discuss how living alone can lead to feeling left out and even to paranoia if not checked. "Simply having a roommate to complain to can make all the difference in the world, restoring perspective and maybe even a sense of humor." They go on to say "Whatever our own individual sensitivity, our well-being suffers when our particular need for connection has not been met... Evolution fashioned us not only to feel good when connected, but to feel secure."