A wide swath of stressors: the pandemic, economic recession, wildfires, racism and the upcoming election to name a few are putting a major strain on our mental health. Any one of those things can be enough to trigger stress, depression and anxiety let alone multiple concurrent stressors. It’s more than many of us can bare. As a result of all this stress, many people become withdrawn; isolating oneself can be a way of coping. This, however, has been found to have a detrimental affect on our health and well being.
Two things that can be very helpful for our well being during these uncertain times:
- Social connection, safely at this time (via phone calls/video conferencing). Being around others gives us comfort and we ought to be intentional about setting dates for social interaction.
- Have self compassion.
Loneliness is a public health crisis, according to Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States States, under the Obama administration.
“As common as loneliness is and as harmful as it can be, the opposite of loneliness, social connection, can be an extraordinary powerful force for improving our health, enhancing our performance in the workplace and at school, and for helping to heal some of the rifts that have developed in societies around the world as we’ve found it harder to dialogue and more prone to polarization.”
This idea of community is so important. Social connection is transformative! Looking back at our evolution, we realize that when we were away from our tribe we were stressed; so many things could harm us when we were alone. As a result, the stress hormones kicked in until we got back to our tribe. Today, when we are in a state of loneliness our brain is programmed to do the same thing, but now, finding our tribe may take far longer and having those prolonged stress hormones in our bodies can be bad for our health. Working collectively is the reality of our experience as human beings…. “If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together”
Cultivate Community Food Co-op has ‘community’ in our name. This was by design as we intend to connect the people in our area into one large inclusive community. Know that we have a place for everyone in our food co-op. Giving of service is another way to help avoid loneliness. When we are serving others we feel good, it lifts our spirits. In addition, we stop thinking about our self so much and the ruminating in our brain (that shows up when we are lonely) goes away. We have many ways for people to serve at CCFC. Together, we can “go far” in developing our community owned grocery store. Please take a look at our Volunteer Intake Form
If you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, disconnected, hopeless and/or depleted at this time, know that you are not alone. Here is a podcast with tools that can help you cope with what you are feeling now during these dire times. How to cope in a time of Cumulative Stress and Anxiety– KQED Radio
If you are feeling lonely, again, know that you are not the only one. Here is an interview with Dr. Murthy that shares how you can start to feel better by connecting yourself with others.
Healing Loneliness: Community and Belonging in the Digital Age.