Why is Connection Important?
TL;DR
Connection combats loneliness. This is important because:
Almost everyone gets lonely sometimes
Feeling lonely sucks
Long-term loneliness can shorten your life expectancy
Fae runs a workshop that helps people build sustainable positive connections that will support you no matter where you are or what’s going on.
Why is connection important? Why do I center my entire life’s work around this word? Well, that’s easy. Connection (our relationship to others) is consistently the most important thing to us. I mean, seriously, if I said “What is most important in your life?” You are pretty likely to say your family, partner, kids, or friends. Even people who are all about their job, rarely work in a vacuum. Those folks are also usually getting a fair amount of fulfillment from the relationships their work allows or requires them to have.
Some people really struggled during our isolating times of COVID when it became impossible for us to see our friends, family, and loved ones for long periods of time. At the time I’m writing this, some of us are STILL struggling with that 18 months later. That’s a different blog post.
Other folks have come up against loneliness in their life path as an expat or remote worker or even just as someone who moves a lot. Just because we are good at picking up & moving our life, doesn’t mean we don’t get lonely. In fact, these folks need to be able to wiggle their way into communities and connections fast so they get those long term friend feelings. These folks also have to work hard to maintain these connections all over the globe as they don’t have the ability to just “stop by”. Long distance friendships aren’t any less fulfilling, they just require a little bit more intentional attention.
Think you’re the only one who gets lonely sometimes? Think again. Feelings of social isolation is a global issue, which has (perhaps ironically) become worse in our digital/social media age. Severe loneliness impacts up to 25% of people all over the world¹ and can cause people to feel depressed, irritable, and as though they have no meaning in life² ³ ⁴. Expats may especially be at risk of experiencing increased loneliness due to the distance from their home country, family, and friends, as well as the culture of frequent relocation.
Loneliness is deadly. Studies have shown if feelings of loneliness continue through life, they can increase premature mortality rates by up to 26%² ³ ⁴. With the global pandemic sticking around longer than we all planned, isolation has risen with a vengeance.
Interestingly, loneliness has little to do with how many friends you have or even how often you communicate with them. One can feel lonely even while in a group of their best friends. Loneliness comes from not feeling connected to those around you. So if this sounds familiar to you, this workshop can help!
My Deepening & Developing Connections Workshop is a psychoeducational workshop (that means it teaches you things about your mind and humankind) focused on helping adults take their friendships and relationships to the next level and helping people feel more connected and fulfilled by their relationships. This will be accomplished through education, learning new skills, and some self-reflection (in session and at home). This is not a social skills class for those who may struggle to interact with others. This workshop does involve some advanced skill building in areas of communication and conflict, so individuals interested in participating should have a basic understanding of interacting with others.
For more information click here.
To sign up click here.
Dr. Fae
has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. She lives abroad and offers online therapy & clinical supervision. In her individual therapy practice, she specializes in value alignment, existential questions, decision making, and general coping to increase overall life satisfaction. Her online self-study course Deepening & Developing Connections is always available.
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You can learn more about her in all these places.
Sources
1. Cacioppo, J. T., & Cacioppo, S. (2018). The growing problem of loneliness. The Lancet, 391(10119), 426. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(18)30142-9
2. Cacioppo, J. T., Cacioppo, S., Capitanio, J. P., & Cole, S. W. (2015). The Neuroendocrinology of Social Isolation. Annual Review of Psychology, 66(1), 733–767. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015240
3. Holt-Lunstad, J., & Smith, T. B. (2016). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for CVD: implications for evidence-based patient care and scientific inquiry. Heart, 102(13), 987–989. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2015-309242
4. Miller, G. (2011). Why Loneliness Is Hazardous to Your Health. Science, 331(6014), 138–140. doi: 10.1126/science.331.6014.138
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