- Countless studies have shown us
that isolating only makes depression and anxiety worse.
But the answers as to why this happens
actually lie within evolutionary psychology.
So make sure you stay tuned.
What is up everybody?
This is Chris from The Rewired Soul,
where we talk about the problem
but focus on the solution.
And yeah, today we're gonna be talking
about isolation and why it is so bad for your mental health.
I have just finished reading two books back to back.
One of 'em was Big Potential by Shawn Achor,
the other one was Lost Connections by Johann Hari.
And the theme that keeps getting repeated
is that isolation is just terrible
for depression and anxiety.
One thing that I always say, that I always say
and I had to learn this the hard way for myself.
Is that isolating has never solved anybody's problems.
So if you know somebody out there
who struggles with isolating.
If they're always isolating
and staying away from other people,
please share this video on your social media
so maybe they see it.
Based on evolutionary psychology,
we can now understand why isolating
makes depression and anxiety even worse.
What this is is your body and mind's
natural reaction telling you
that you need to get back to the group.
So here's why.
So let's imagine, let's imagine your ancestors,
your great great great great great ancestors.
Back in the hunter and gatherer days, okay?
You're part of this tribe, your tribe who lives together,
thrives together, moves around together,
all sorts of stuff, okay?
This is what our brains are actually developed based on.
The people who survived pass along genes
that give us the difference traits
that we have today, okay?
So let's imagine back in those days,
you're part of this tribe and you get separated
from the tribe, you get lost,
you're going out, you're gonna run some errands
or whatever it is that you do
and then you get lost from the tribe, okay?
Now think about this.
If you get sick, who's gonna be there to take care of you?
If you get attacked by an animal and you're injured,
who's gonna be there to take care of you?
Your family, the rest of your tribe,
these people who rely on you,
how can you help them if you get lost
and you're separated from the tribe?
Though depression and anxiety are actually
the result of you being separated from the tribe, okay?
We have to understand that humans evolved
from tribal people.
And the way evolution works is that
even though society has changed,
our evolution hasn't changed all that much.
So when you're separated, when you're alone,
when you're isolating, this is your body
urging you, urging you to get around people.
One of the biggest issues that we face today is
these memes and motivational pictures that are shared
all across social media that are telling you
that you are the only one who can fix you,
you need to do this, you need to do that,
you're the only one who can solve your problems.
There are even certain political parties out there
who think that you need to figure
this stuff out on your own.
But this is completely, completely counterintuitive
to the way that our brains are actually designed.
We are meant to do things together
and have a group of support around us.
So one of the things that people often wonder
is why we get anxious when we're alone too?
Or why do people with depression,
often struggle with anxiety as well?
Well there has been some very
interesting studies based on this.
One study that's mentioned in the book "Lost Connections"
is that they were measuring people's cortisol levels
when they felt alone.
So throughout the day, they were tracking their day
like, through a journal, and then
they would have to spit in a tube
and what that did was it logged their cortisol levels, okay?
So whenever they wrote in their journal
that they were feeling lonely,
you saw that the cortisol levels
were actually elevated because of the anxiety
that was happening because they felt lonely.
Now, another very interesting study
that came from that book was this.
What they did was they took people
who had feelings of loneliness
and then they took, you know,
a regular group of people, and they wanted to measure
how long it took these two different groups of people
to spot a potential threat.
So the people who struggled with loneliness,
they were able to spot a threat within 150 milliseconds.
The other group of people who didn't feel lonely,
it took them twice as long, twice as long,
300 milliseconds to spot a potential threat.
So why is that?
People who feel lonely know that they don't have
anybody else around to protect them,
so this is what creates anxiety.
If you are someone who feels that you don't have
any type of support group,
you constantly gotta be on the lookout
because you don't feel as though
you have anybody there for you.
The problem with this is that it creates
this snowball effect and only makes things worse.
Just for example, lonely people are very socially anxious
so they're afraid of people.
They see new people as a potential threat.
And what's crazy about this,
the paradox that lies within this
is that you are now afraid of the thing
that can actually help you which is other people.
So, of course, here on The Rewired Soul,
you know, we talk about the problem,
we focus on the solution.
Here is the suggestion I have for all of you, okay?
Realize, realize that there is a difference
between being introverted and isolating, okay?
That's the first thing to realize.
Like it's okay to be introverted
and not go out and be the life of the party
or things like that but as we just discussed in this video,
isolation is fueling your depression and your anxiety.
So some things that you can do
is your work, or read a book, force yourself.
Like just go down to the local coffee shop,
you know what I mean?
Be around people, alright?
The more that you get comfortable around people
and start seeing yourself as one of the tribe,
your depression and your anxiety will start to lessen.
And I get it, I've struggled with depression and anxiety
for many many years, I know this seems
like I just asked you to do a lot,
but this is the best baby step that you can do.
Now, some people, like you go into these situations
and you still feel alone.
This is why I highly recommend meditation.
If you would like, check the info card,
I just did a meditation with my son
that helps you feel more connected to others.
So for example, a lot of people might, you know,
you might in Times Square in New York City
and you're with thousands of thousands
of thousands of people but you still feel alone.
Through meditation, you start feeling
more connected with everybody.
This is one of the million reasons
why depression actually is lessened
by regular meditation practices.
Alright?
So again, so again, I hope this video helped you out.
I hope it helped you understand
why you need to quit isolating so much.
And like I said at the beginning of this video,
if you think that this video might help
somebody that you know or even people
that you don't even know if they're isolating,
like, just share this, share this on social media.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever you got.
Share it so maybe we can help
some more people out there, okay?
But anyways, I would love to hear from all of you,
do you struggle with isolation?
Do you need more tips?
Leave a comment down below, okay?
But anyways, anyways, thank you so much for watching.
If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up.
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I'm always making videos to help you out
with your mental health.
You can also click or tap on one of those thumbnails.
Check out some more videos on this channel, alright?
So thank you so much for watching.
Quit isolating and I'll see you next time.