Alessandra's Angle: Episode 4 Show Transcript and Notes/Links
Here’s the transcript to the latest episode of “Alessandra’s Angle”. I’ve included links to the articles, books, and chats I mentioned in the show. I will be posting transcripts of past shows on this blog as well due to the space constraints on BuzzSprout (despite providing transcripts of your show), Apple, and other sites that do not allow for full transcript and link posting.
To listen to the show, please go to the “Podcast” tab on this website and follow the link. Thank you and be sure to tune in to this month’s episode which I’ll be posting in the next week. We’ll be discussing living mindfully.
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Hello and welcome to episode four of “Alessandra Angle”. I hope you're well, and that you've been well in the last month. It has been quite an interesting time for all of us, with the COVID-19 quarantines that are happening all over the world. As we begin to now open up slowly in phases, I hope that you are all well and that you and your families are starting to get back to some sense of normalcy.
It is warm here on the East coast of the United States. We are entering into the summer season. And so people are rightfully so anxious to be out and about. I would just caution everyone to follow the guidelines and continue to respect the rules and guidelines that are given to us so that we continue to be healthy; and we can, at the same time, enjoy being outside. Today's topic of conversation is social connection and the importance of social connection and the role it plays in our overall health. And it's interesting because I plan these shows out for the entire year and, it just so happens that this month, the topic is social connection. And what more appropriate time to discuss the relevance of this topic and the importance of connection given that we just came out of a period of time where many of us were, all of us were, isolated from friends and in some cases family members for those of us that live alone were isolated. And so even more important and timely, I think this topic is and it worked out perfectly well. And I'm one that does not believe in coincidences. So I think everything happens for a reason and I'm happy that this is the topic of the month. So let's jump right in.
Researchers define social connection as the feeling that you belong to a group and feel close to other people. There was an article written in Psychology Today that delved into this. It's a recent article. It's actually from May 23rd of 2020, and it was authored by Emma Seppala, who's the Associate Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford university. And what Dr. Seppala talks about in the article is that humans are profoundly social creatures. We're just hardwired to be social - that's our nature.
And so social connection in and of itself is a fundamental human need that impacts our mental and physical health and also our longevity. Dr. Seppala says that people who feel connected to others have lower rates of anxiety and depression, and also on the positive side, or to add to that, even more positive is that they're more empathetic and they have higher self-esteem. On the flip side of that, low social connection is associated with declines in physical and mental health, as well as increased antisocial behavior and the potential for further isolation, which of course leads to depression and a whole host of other issues like anxiety. So loneliness, according to various studies is one of the leading reasons that people seek psychological counseling. And when you think about the impacts that that has on mental and physical health, it's even more important that we try to in any way we can strengthen those relationships that we have, and also seek out other ways to become connected or to be involved with other groups, because those who are not socially connected are more vulnerable to anxiety and depression and antisocial behaviors, which can also at times lead to suicidal behaviors.
So it's very, very important that we recognize when we feel depressed, when we're feeling disconnected or isolated and seek help in doing so, whether that be via our hotline or via a therapist, or just reaching out to family members and saying, "I'm just not feeling great" or "I feel a little lonely, a little depressed." And I know it's hard. Sometimes I've had people say to me, "it's not that easy. You don't want to seem weak." People are afraid that they seem weak or that they are going to be viewed as being overly dramatic or too sensitive. And again, studies show that that is not the case and that lack of connection or trying to ignore it has a far more detrimental effect on our health and wellbeing. So do reach out. And if you notice someone, if it's not you but you notice someone who is feeling depressed or may seem a little bit out of it or disconnected or sad, reach out to that person, check in with that person, ask if everything is okay, you'd be surprised. Sometimes people just need someone to say, "Hey, I noticed that you seem a little bit down" or "you seem a little bit sort of disconnected lately, are you okay?" And they'll just open up. It just takes that one person to show empathy and compassion and care, and you'd be surprised how much people open up.
So the correlation between social connection and health and longevity is further reinforced in other studies. In fact, there's a book called "The Healing Self" by dr. Rudy Tanzi and Deepak Chopra coauthored by the both of them, which delves into and explains how lifestyle choices affect our immune system and overall health, and how changes in our lifestyle can actually increase our health, strengthen our immune system and help us to live longer. There is a section of the book that talks about social connections as well. I'm going to read you just a piece of it that says:
"There are not many studies that directly connect stress, for example, to physical changes in the immune system, yet the connection between high stress and getting sick has been well-documented and is doubted by no one. If we expand our definition of immunity to everything that keeps us healthy, there's even more evidence about how lifestyle disorders like hypertension and heart disease become a greater threat. When someone is poor, depressed, lonely, or living without social support, these findings all point in the same direction, immunity can be transformed into total immunity, but not by restricting our focus on the immune system, which includes only the physical side. The mind must be given equal importance, which is why itself is the key word to the healing self."
And so again, reinforcing the point that people who live without social support are more likely to suffer a compromised immune system or a negative impact of their immune system or mental and physical health overall and their wellbeing, which then also leads to a shortened lifespan. So it's a great book. I highly recommend you reading it, "The Healing Self" I've read it. And it's one of those books that you can bookmark and then go back and read again. Other books by, Dr. Tanzi and Deepak Chopra include "Super Brain" and "Super Genes," all three books highly recommend. I've read them. Some of them I've read twice because it's that fascinating. And there's a wealth of information there that I think that you'd really enjoy on the mind body connection and how our state of mind and our social connections help to improve our overall quality of life.
The National Institutes of Health further recognizes the critical role that human connection plays in overall health as well. In February, 2017, A story published in the NIH news and health journal suggested that having social conections boosts immunity and helps us fight off germs. Psychologically, these connections help our overall outlook on life because we see life in a more positive way. So some examples, practical examples of how we can get connected, because I always like to give examples in these podcasts that are practical and that you can apply and that are not just, you know, aspirational in nature. There are actually things you can do. One great way is to think about a hobby, something that you like to do, a passion of yours, then take a look and research it. What groups are available in your neighborhood, in your area that you can join? Joining a group of people that is focused on a hobby that you like that has like interests really does a great deal to help boost your feelings of self-confidence, and also help you make connections with people that are quality people that share your views and share your passions in life. Exercise is important as well to a healthy body and a healthy mind. And so joining a group, maybe a hiking group, doing hiking or walking with your friends or a martial arts group or Tai Chi group, or taking up yoga, taking a class in yoga, this is a great way again to connect with people that have, or share your passions or interests. Volunteerism and, you know, my background is in nonprofit and working with nonprofits, making the world a better place through volunteerism, corporate social responsibility. So I'm always going to include the community and the volunteer aspect, because this is proven. Volunteerism has so many mental and physical positive impacts on our lives that I will always throw that in there. Not only for ourselves personally, but giving back also helps the community and the world at large.
So definitely think about volunteering. There are many websites. I will include some links in the show notes, which by the way, I'll be publishing show notes on my website, in my blog. The site that I publish this podcast on and many of the sites where this podcast is published don't leave a lot of space to be able to put a full transcript of the show notes. So I apologize for the past show notes, that they haven't been up there. But I think the best way is to just post it on my blog. So take a look on my blog. I'll give you the links when I publish this podcast and you can go there and find the transcript. And I will include the show notes, which will have links to the articles and the books that I mentioned in there. So take a look at opportunities to volunteer in your community. It could be helping to plant a community garden or volunteering for even your local church. Joining a church group is another great group, or just a regular community neighborhood group. Ways you can research: go to your community's website, find what groups are out there. They could be youth groups, they could be senior groups. They could be groups based on hobbies. As we mentioned, lots of opportunities to connect with people. So we've talked about ways that we can physically go out and join groups. But what about people who are more introverted, who are sociable but they're not really going to run out and physically interact or join a community group. There's benefits to socially connecting online as well. So you don't have to be somebody who's a social butterfly. You know, me, I like to go out. I like to connect with people, but I also like to connect online.
There's a wealth of information and great groups that you can join online as well. So if you say to yourself, "I'm not somebody that really likes to go out as much," you can still benefit from connecting socially in online groups. I think there was no period in time like this past few months during the COVID-19 quarantines, that people really, really felt the need for connection. And I think that in the past, we took it for granted, our connections, but I think that this quarantine and lockdown situation that we all lived through globally as a global community, because COVID-19 effected everyone, it wasn't just one country. It was the entire planet. I think that it really, really helped us to understand and gain a wider perspective and a deeper perspective on just how important connections were. And you can tell by the way people try to stay connected. So, you know, again, we are hard wired as humans to be social. And so whether it be through online or through drive by visits, people found a way to connect during COVID-19. They did Zoom calls, group calls and chats and FaceTime calls with families, friends, people in relationships had virtual date nights and family members connected. I know myself personally, I couldn't visit my parents. So we did virtual calls just about every night and we saw each other and FaceTimed and it felt great because it felt like you could see each other and yet, you know, you were apart. So that's an example, also drive by birthday parades or celebratory parades for graduations and other happy occasions, driveway visits, where the people would drive and stop at the end of the driveway and wave. And people at their front porch were waving back. People found creative ways to stay connected. And it just speaks to, again, how hardwired we are, that we are social animals. Humans are social animals and that we need and crave that connection. So again, if you're not someone who goes out to physically join groups, there are many online groups that you can join. Some examples if you're on Twitter, there are some great communities out there that you can join. Two of my favorites that I like to, pop into every now and then for chats or are the Spirit Chat community, #SpiritChat on Twitter. This group meets every Sunday at 9:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time (USA). And it's an awesome group. And it's all about spirituality and connectedness and making the world a better place. If you're someone that's into those topics, check them out.
On the same type of topic there's another chat on Monday nights at 7:00 PM EST (USA) called Soul Nesting Chat #SoulNestingChat. It's really great, always talking about empathy, compassion, how we can improve ourselves and make the world better for others and improve our relationships. Two great chats that you can join. But there are a plethora out there. If you just do a search on Twitter, you can find them. Likewise, Facebook has many groups. You can join their community groups, search for your community. There's no lack of groups that you can join. There's a plethora out there. So do look into that.
So to recap:
1. We, as humans are hardwired to be social animals.
2. Studies show that all forms of relationships, friendships, whether they be friendships, family, relationships, work, marriages, romantic relationships, all relationships and connections have a physical impact that is positive on our mental and physical bodily health, as well as our longevity.
3. There are many ways to connect. We can connect in person by joining community groups or church groups, groups related to a favorite hobby volunteerism, or virtually via online groups. And also meditation. There are meditations that are focused on compassion, on empathy. In meditating, you can feel like you are connected to other people. And there's a great app that I've talked about several times now called the Calm app that I use, that I absolutely love that is chock full of great meditations on any topic.
So those are some ways that we can connect. I hope that you have enjoyed this talk today. We've now come to the end of our chat, and I hope that you will check out the show notes. I will be putting the links to the, different things that I talked about today on the notes, on my blog, on my website within the next day or so. And thank you for your feedback to all who've reached out over the last several months to give me feedback on the show on the topics. I really appreciate it, and I hope that you'll join me next month when the topic will be mindfulness - living in the here and now. Until then, take care of beautiful people!
LINKS
Articles and Books:
Connection Boosts Health Even When You're Isolated - by Dr. Emma Seppala
Do Social Ties Affect Our Health? - NIH News In Health February 2017
Volunteer Opportunities:
Twitter Communities:
