To many, this is common sense.  Meeting and interacting with people can help you recover from physical and mental issues.  The conversational piece in human interaction, whether it is superficial or deep conversations, provides you with stimulants that trigger positive mental vibes and these vibes will, in turn, change your body’s behavior.

It may sound very scientific, yet I’m not a scientist, but we need social interaction to heal.

At work, you often collaborate with colleagues to achieve something amazing.  You chat with people around the water cooler, in the corridors, anywhere where you had social interaction.  Being able to engage in these at times casual conversations is what makes working great.  Magic happens when people talk!

When you go through something physical or mental, you need an outlet and you need people to listen to you.  Just listening to you will help you express your fears, concerns, joys, challenges, etc. and free you of the burden that these experiences bring you.

It will lift the burden entirely,  as it will take a lot of talking to really remove some of these invisible scars.  You have to start somewhere, and then your healing will start.

When I fell ill, and no longer at the office, the social interaction was cut off.  I had my loving family and wife, but I could not burden them with my worries all the time, as they also had their worries from witnessing their father and husband be in a state of despair.

Very few people reached out to me.  I felt alone and forgotten.  My mind wandered off into the rabbit hole of darkness.  I started to question my relationship with all these people and determined many of these ware just fake.

Friends, who I thought were friends, were nowhere to be found.  The burden of loneliness became bigger and bigger.  It weighed me down and I was in a dark place.

When suddenly some colleagues reached out, it was a lighthouse in the dark that blinked and brought me to safety.  I received some visits from team members, and my smiles started to come back.

I was fragile mentally, but these interactions started to put together my shattered pieces.  They became the glue that would build me up again.

• A close friend from Denmark reached out to me and called often.  His messages of support and thoughts were like a drug that made me high on endorphins.
• My sister was constantly checking in on me and offered to come to visit.

These little magic moments started the amazing healing process.  People were concerned and interested in my wellbeing.  From then on, the healing started.

As a flower that does not get water, it withers away.  That’s what happens to the human mind, spirit and mental state when we don’t have human interaction.

We crave this!  We need this!

So, what’s my message with this lengthy post?

Well, I want to raise the awareness that you need to reach out to people who are lonely and going through challenges.  It does not have to involve money donation.  It is more about providing emotional support.

On the flip side, we the doomed, also need to make an effort.  You see who the important people in your life suddenly are, and you need to nourish these relationships; short distance or long-distance does not matter.

It is a two-way relationship.  You cannot demand people to talk to or visit you, so focus on the relationships that matter.  The rest of the people you interact with will still be social contacts, but the deeper relationships are your priorities.

During my struggles, I also found another person who listened.  A person who many think does not exist.  A person who people mock and yet he’s always there.  For me, that person is Jesus.  I learned to pray and he will help you carry your burdens.

Help people in your life.  Talk to people in your life.  Reach out to people in your life.  Nurture those important and rewarding relationships and you will heal!