Connectedness
Thursday, September 20, 2007
How many times now have I posted on a specific thought, and the following day I find an article in my e-mail box that is related? It's uncanny. Here's a message from Charity Focus related to the healthiness of friendship:
Loneliness
Is
An island
In
The
middle
Of
A sea of people --R.R. (age 11)
Fact of the Day:
According to research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., having close friends you can count on has far-reaching benefits for your physical and mental health. A strong social network can be critical to helping you through the stress of tough times, whether you've had a bad day at work or a year filled with loss or chronic illness. Dr. Edward T. Creagan is a cancer specialist at the Mayo Clinic and the author of "How Not to Be My Patient: A Physician’s Secrets for Staying Healthy and Surviving any Diagnosis." He says a prescription of friendship can go a long way toward a healthy future. “Mounting evidence from sociologists, psychologists and medical researchers suggests that strong social support -- I like the term 'connectedness' -- can help a person live longer,” he said. [ more ]
Submitted by: Birju Pandya
Be The Change:
Make an explicit effort to decrease someone's loneliness today -- a smile to a passerby, a conversation with a coworker, a flower to a friend.
I love how these articles often include a "be the change" challenge like the one above. I think a more fitting challenge regarding connectedness, though, might be to reach out when YOU have a need. Ask for help. Share a heartache. Confess a fear. Tell a story. Invite a friend to join your journey!
Loneliness
Is
An island
In
The
middle
Of
A sea of people --R.R. (age 11)
Fact of the Day:
According to research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., having close friends you can count on has far-reaching benefits for your physical and mental health. A strong social network can be critical to helping you through the stress of tough times, whether you've had a bad day at work or a year filled with loss or chronic illness. Dr. Edward T. Creagan is a cancer specialist at the Mayo Clinic and the author of "How Not to Be My Patient: A Physician’s Secrets for Staying Healthy and Surviving any Diagnosis." He says a prescription of friendship can go a long way toward a healthy future. “Mounting evidence from sociologists, psychologists and medical researchers suggests that strong social support -- I like the term 'connectedness' -- can help a person live longer,” he said. [ more ]
Submitted by: Birju Pandya
Be The Change:
Make an explicit effort to decrease someone's loneliness today -- a smile to a passerby, a conversation with a coworker, a flower to a friend.
I love how these articles often include a "be the change" challenge like the one above. I think a more fitting challenge regarding connectedness, though, might be to reach out when YOU have a need. Ask for help. Share a heartache. Confess a fear. Tell a story. Invite a friend to join your journey!
