Are you feeling connected today?
This week’s Mental Sunshine is about being Connected.
How connected do you feel to the world around you?
Loneliness is a real problem in the modern world. It’s easy to feel that we’re surrounded by people on a crowded street, or with a smartphone full of social media contacts –
But having lots of names in our phone doesn’t necessarily mean we have a real connection with the people around us.
When we don’t have a real human connection with other people it can feel incredibly lonely
And this can actually affect our immune system too.
Feeling connected to the people around us is about feeling seen and appreciated.
So how can we feel more connected?
Start by making eye contact and smiling at the people around you.
This creates an instant connection and can help to immediately lift your mood a little.
Resist the urge to hide in your phone when in social situations.
We can often use our phones as a sort of comfort blanket when we find ourselves in a queue or otherwise waiting around –
But this prevents us making any sort of connection with the world around us.
Put your phone in your pocket,
Lift your head up
And engage with the world around you a little more!
Actually, engaging with the world around us is the only way to feel connected.
It can feel vulnerable and scary to do this,
But it’s worth the “perceived” risk to feel more connected!
