A study involving 775 people aged 18-91 years concludes that difficulties in establishing social ties is a risk for physical health just as smoking, hypertension, lack of physical exercise or obesity are. We knew about the association with mental health (depression and anxiety). Difficulty in social relations was examined in 4 ways: difficulty in offering emotional help to someone in need, difficulty in sharing personal info with someone, difficulty in refusing inappropriate requests from others and difficulty in presenting oneself to new people and getting to know them. Difficulties in forming social relations causes stress and solitude and these are the true risks for health. Solitude would work through stress which is the final culprit. Solitude is compared to someone who is in a hurry to leave the house but cannot find the keys. Someone who really cannot find the keys eventually finds them, but when you suffer from solitude it is as if you never find them. Some aspects of social relations such as sociability or fear of the public, have a hereditary base but the technique behind social relations is usually learned at school and ‘in life’. A recurring feature is that one is not aware of the problem. The job application that was turned down, the argument with a colleague, the date that was refused, the misunderstanding with one’s wife/husband, all have a common matrix. These people all have an important health risk factor. Our technological instruments facilitate social relations only up to a point, but they are among the main obstacles to the development of significant social relations. Young people in particular, are often shy when face to face because they have lost the ability to interact. The school and family can do much to teach the young to interact in a direct way and this will protect their health, just as getting immunized against certain diseases, eating healthy and practicing a sport.