Low mood? Are we facing a crisis of lack of REAL human connection?

Working from home has its benefits, I can walk the dog first thing before I start my day, eat food on demand from my fridge. I love my job.

So why sometimes do I feel empty at the end of the day?

I still have conversations with people via online meetings or calls every day – so this ticks the box of human connection. Right?  Actually, WRONG!

I think I’m pretty in-tune-with-myself-kind-of-gal. Based on my previous training as a yoga teacher, I’ve honed the skill of listening to my mind-body,  meaning I don’t dismiss the thoughts and feelings that arise when sitting in stillness or throughout the day. I try instead to listen to what my mind-body is telling me (so a heavy feeling in my chest at the end of the day is a signal for me to question – why am I physically feeling  like this?).

I also the benefit of the amazing insight from my training in Rapid Transformational Therapy, and have witnessed many individuals ‘suffering’ from, well, lack of purpose and feeling low or depressed. 

So this brings me back to my personal ponderings of – why do I feel ‘off’.

Connection is a basic human need that can improve depression

Here’s the thing, one of our basic needs as humans is feeling a sense of connection with other humans.  Finding our tribe.  Feeling like we ‘belong’. 

My own personal realisation has been that despite still having connection online every day in online calls, NOTHING beats looking people directly into their real human blinking eyes, picking up on nuances of body language and facial expressions and quite frankly, having a REAL face to face human experience.  To literally leave the home, travel on the bus or train, speak to the barista, smile at strangers in the street – this is what I’ve realised fuels me.  It’s being out and about and part of the REAL world.  Feel the real energy of life buzzing around me. 

However I know how lucky I am to have a CHOICE about where I spend my time during the working day.  So I am totally not dismissing that everyone’s circumstances are different, and actually it’s totally a personal preference and privilege that I have the ability to go into an office, or afford to sit in a café and drink a (now very expensive!) barista coffee.

How to improve low mood with human connection - daily

I also know the irony of me writing this is that I’m still going to have online meetings and calls – that’s the way of the inter-connected world – though I’m recognising that in order to stay connected in a way that makes me feel good, I need to take action and mix things up a bit, which is going into the office or have a real face to face human interaction throughout the day.  I need to build this into my day/week. 

So this article was in fact written, sat in a café early in the morning, watching the buzz of people around me, which set me up beautifully for the day  (#coffeeisgoodforthesoul).

• I’m really interested to know -  how many of you also feel you lack connection? 

• Do you still feel fulfilled and connected with people in an online context?

• Have you changed your habits to have more human face to face connection?

Would love to know what you think.  So I’m signing off today I’m pleased to say without a heavy feeling in my chest – due to pausing, taking stock of why I feel this way, listening to what my body/intuition is telling me and decided to be proactive and do things differently.

#listentoyourbody #humanconnectioniskey

Interested to learn more?  Why not book a Discovery Call with me and we can discuss how RTT® can help you become the best version of yourself.