The art of storytelling has long been a respected skill and important tradition in many cultures. Over the course of history, community elders and their stories have been regarded as a treasure trove of the society’s knowledge, history, and wisdom. Older members of a community were encouraged to share their stories with younger generations, keeping the[…]
Much of modern life, though seeming to promote connectivity, has had the opposite effect of fostering social isolation and loneliness, experts say. A four-minute film produced for the UnLonely Film Festival and Conference last month featured a young woman who, as a college freshman, felt painfully alone. She desperately missed her familiar haunts and high school[…]
Hurray for the HotBlack Coffee cafe in Toronto for declining to offer Wi-Fi to its customers. There are other such cafes, to be sure, including seven of the eight New York City locations of Café Grumpy. But it’s HotBlack’s reason for the electronic blackout that is cause for hosannas. As its president, Jimson Bienenstock, explained, his aim[…]
Eating a healthy diet when you’re traveling isn’t easy – especially if you’re going for a long car ride. Typical road trip fare includes fast food, microwave-ready service station options, bags of chips and lots of sodas, but it it’s possible to navigate your way around the junk food and maintain your healthy diet. Here’s how: […]
If you want to feel more connected to others, break out of your social comfort zone. Many of us have a lot in common with the people in our inner circle — which makes sense. We’ve taken the same courses in school or worked under the same boss. We’ve bonded over the books we’ve[…]
Being able to “go with the flow” isn’t just good for your stress levels. Emotional flexibility can help you to get along well with others and move through life more easily. Being able to “go with the flow” and be flexible in your thinking is a necessary skill for dealing with life’s inevitable changes.[…]
Did you know that loneliness has the potential to kill? Research suggests that loneliness is on par with substance abuse and obesity in terms of its negative impact on your physical health. And not only does loneliness have the power to send us to an early grave, it has the potential to do incredible damage to[…]
New research suggests that people who laugh together like each other more. Victor Borge once wrote, “Laughter is the closest distance between two people.” Many of us would probably agree that laughter brings us closer to others, whether we’re joking with our spouse or laughing with an audience at a comedy club. Yet[…]
Social wellness means nurturing yourself and your relationships. Social Support Grow Your Social Network Relationships Nurture Your Relationships Emotions It means giving and receiving social support – ensuring that you have friends and other people, including family, to turn to in times of need or crisis to give you a broader focus and positive self-image. […]
July is Social Wellness Month, which is a great time to strengthen and de-stress your relationships. Learn exactly how your relationships can affect you and how you can keep them healthy and happy. Western society encourages people to be independent, autonomous and self-sufficient. Recent research in neuroscience has been telling us that this is actually nearly impossible without the[…]