Despair is one of the most substantial health concerns of the twenty-first century, as the number of suffering persons around the globe rises exponentially. This book contends that widespread despair is a direct product of disconnections which are facilitated by crises of care across our societies. We develop and apply the care disconnection framework to explain how humans are dependent across their lives, how responsibilities emerge from specific relationships grounded in dependency, and how psychological attachments support need fulfillment. More importantly, the framework reveals how despair ensues from disruptions in these processes. Using insights from philosophical, psychological, sociological, and neuroscientific work on the subject of despair, this book provides an interdisciplinary analysis of connection across the crises of our time – the polarization of our political communities, the instability of economic opportunities and resources, the steady collapse of natural environments, the migration to addictive technology for social interaction, the insecurity of faith and spirituality across generations and places, and the deficiencies of modern mental health care systems. Caring With Despair is a restorative project in the face of crises: a way of identifying disruptions, rebuilding connections, and pointing towards conditions of shared flourishing. To care with despair requires an honest acknowledgment of what has been broken, a steady reconstitution of what has been lost, and a persistent development of the relational arrangements which make a good life possible for more persons in more places. To this end, this book extends an invitation to examine despair as a disorder of our social systems and our ability to connect, rather than as the private dysfunction of suffering individuals.

Shaun Respess is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and the Department of Integrative Humanities and Social Sciences at North Carolina State University. His research focused on the intersections between care theory, bioethics, and the philosophy of technology, with special attention to emerging challenges in mental health care and social robotics. Following his Ph.D. in Ethical and Social Thought from Virginia Tech, he has published on issues in psychiatric ethics, artificial intelligence ethics, telehealth, neurostimulation, and treatment-adherence.

Dr. Victor Counted (PhD, University of Groningen; PhD, Western Sydney University) is a psychologist, human flourishing scientist, and associate professor of psychology at Regent University. He leads the Abundant Life Flourishing Lab at Regent University, Faculty Affiliate of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, and Researcher in the Global Flourishing Study. His research examines various psychological processes that shape human flourishing across cultures. A popular international speaker and media guest, he has been featured in Scientific American, The Conversation, Christianity Today, ABC National Radio, Psychology Today, and more. He lives with his wife and sons in Virginia Beach, Virginia.