Community Is the Cure
On his last day as Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy reiterated his warning about our nation’s dual emotional epidemics of loneliness and social disconnection. In an advisory released in 2023, he discussed how these trends are increasing in the US and how they affect not only our emotional and social wellbeing but also our physical wellness. The health risks of prolonged loneliness and social disconnection are like smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Fortunately, the cure for both afflictions is something we all have the power to do: find community. Community can be defined as a feeling of being interconnected with others because of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. In other words, we all need to find a “tribe” or two that we can connect with. Over the last couple of years, I have read studies that have explained how this can be done in some surprising ways.
The most surprising finding to me was that participation in synchronized activities such church, marching, dance, even yoga instills a sense of trust and togetherness among the participants (Awe by Dacher Keltner). I never expected that these memorized rituals had the effect of drawing us together. I also learned that how we communicate affects our sense of community too. In a study of how friends communicate, Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley (It’s Surprisingly Nice to Hear from You, 2020) found that hearing someone’s voice (phone, video calls) verses text-based conversations (e-mail, text) created stronger social bonds. While we can be mentally and physically active at home, to get the complete benefit out of these activities, join a group so that you can exercise your emotional muscles too.
Many of the books I have read expressed the importance of outdoor group activities. Awe, The Nature Fix by Florence Williams, and Rewilding by Micah Mortalli, to name a few, discuss not only the personal growth experienced in nature but the added benefits of going outside with a group. Japanese scientists did the first studies on how just being in nature reduces stress and improves heart and brain health. Do this with a group and you add in the emotional benefits discussed above.
Studies are now showing that the high prevalence of anxiety in young adults has some of its roots in the loss of outdoor free play. In Stolen Focus by Johann Hari and The Anxious Generation by Jonathon Haidt the authors paint a picture of childhood very foreign to those of us over forty. The memories we have of childhoods consisting of playing games with neighborhood kids, riding bikes, building forts in the woods, etc. are totally unknown to today’s young people who were raised indoors and went outside only under close adult supervision.
In our winter book club, we are reading Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy. This book makes it very clear that if you want native animals to live in community with you on your property, then you must provide a space for native plants to provide habitat and food for all creatures to share so they can thrive. Humans are no different. We need a complete habitat to thrive. The solution to our collective sense of isolation and loneliness is clear, find an activity you like, find a group that does it, and if this activity is outside all the better. Kris and I have chosen to lead activities that we value and want to share with others. However, as we all know there are many more groups available. Do it for your health and happiness, set an intention to find a community to join.