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Connection

Science has shown us that a sense of community leads longer, healthier, happier lives. Without it we suffer loneliness, isolation and ill health.

Connection

The Harvard Study of Adult development found that a high level of satisfaction in relationships at age 50 was the biggest indicator of good health at 80. Community is medicine, just like food and sleep. Without community, we suffer from loneliness, isolation and feeling lack of belonging. Isolation has been connected with inflammation and can even negatively impact your immune response.

Being disconnected from the people around you has the same effect on your health as being obese.


An easy step we can take is committing just ten or fifteen minutes a day to talking to someone we love, which is a powerful way to keep ourselves happy and connected. Volunteering, joining a class, and spending time with family and friends are all great ways to strengthen your social bonds. Get involved in things that you care about and your connections will naturally fall into place.


THE LINK BETWEEN DISCONNECTION AND DEPRESSION

Depression and anxiety are the maladies of our time. Pharmaceutical companies would have us believe that this epidemic is due to chemical imbalances in our brains, however this is often not the case. There is mounting evidence that the ever increasing use of antidepressants is not the solution. They do not address the cause of our pain, and for many of us they do not provide the pathway through it. We are disconnected, from ourselves, from our natural world, and from each other. Perhaps it's time to take a look at mental health through the lense of society?


"Depression is not a malfunction. It's a signal. It's telling you something. Your deepest needs are not being met. You need to have a community. You need to have meaningful values. You need to have meaningful work. You need the natural world. You need to feel you are respected. You need a secure future. You need connections to all these things."


                                                                                  - Johann Hari, Lost Connections

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