Being single isn’t as depressing as everyone has been making it out to be.

A new study shows that single people are not actually depressed and isolated like most people in relationships think they are.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, shows that single people have stronger ties to more friends and family members than their married or involved counterparts, Laken Howard reported for Mic.

This isn’t the first time these connections have been highlighted, even though the sad, lonely and single trope is still hanging on.

Single people are more likely to connect with and be close to their parents and siblings. They are also more likely to socialize and help friends and neighbors, keep their siblings together and be more engaged with their city, according to Bella DePaulo for Psychology Today.

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On the other hand, studies have shown that people who live alone are more likely to be depressed and be on antidepressants, Amanda Gardner reported for CNN.

Twenty-five percent of people who lived alone filled an antidepressant prescription, while only 16 percent of other people did the same. However, people were quick to point out that the two might not be connected directly because of other factors.

Typically, the more connections to people you have in your life, the happier you feel.

A Harvard psychiatrist followed the lives of 268 men for 75 years and studied the things that happened in their lives, Carolyn Gregoire reported for The Huffington Post. The results of this study centered on connections, concluding that it's the relationships in our lives that matter most.

"Joy is connection,” one of the study directors, George Vaillant, said. "The more areas in your life you can make connection, the better."

The reason that single people have more of these strong ties could be the nature of married people that keeps the two together, Howard explained.

“Researchers offered one possible explanation, speculating that because married people are ‘drawn to and focused on each other in such a way that excludes personal ties to others,’ they are ‘naturally and necessarily homebodies,’” Howard wrote. “Yet because single people ‘would naturally feel lonely if they stayed at home,’ they tend to get out more, leading to them having much more active social lives.”

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Shelby Slade is a writer for Deseret News National. Email: sslade@deseretdigital.com, Twitter: shelbygslade.

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