Are you depressed and upset? We need to meet. No, Skype or phone calls are no substitute for a face-to-face meeting, and here's why.
Everyone has long known that people, for the most part, need to communicate. However, the development of technology has led to the fact that we began to see each other less often and correspond more often. For the transfer of information is a big plus. And to convey emotions?
From the point of view of our psyche, we have lost a lot by replacing face-to-face meetings with communication by phone, e-mail and skype. And more and more research confirms this.
So, in October 2015, the Oregon He alth and Science University published the results of another study. It turned out that older people (over 50 years old) who regularly met face-to-face with their acquaintances and relatives were less prone to depression than their colleagues who spent comparable time communicating via the Internet: in chats, video conferences or by e-mail.
It turned out that the lack or lack of live communication leads to a two-fold increase in the risk of depression in two years of such a life.
Lead author of the study, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oregon, Alan Theo explains: priceless.”
People seem to have a built-in mental mechanism that makes us feel better if we can hug or touch the other person. Conversely, the impossibility of physical contact leads to frustration.”
What about introverts?
If you're one of those people who doesn't feel comfortable making new friends, Dr. Theo recommends hanging out with family and old friends. “Shy people tend to be more comfortable in familiar surroundings, with people they have known for years.”
Also, the author of the study recommends various types of group social activities for lonely people. It can be some kind of social circle of common interests, hobbies or social activities.
It becomes clear why grandmothers, even without knowing about modern research, intuitively gather in interest clubs, even if all their interests are discussing a fat or thin TV star or the private life of neighbors.
This turns out to be an evolutionary strategy for avoiding depression.
What to do with social networks? Use them solely as a tool for finding like-minded people, but not as the only means of communication with them.
No progress can replace old-fashioned gatherings.
