Depending on the kind of connection, social and emotional yes! we need to get connected. Human beings are inherently social creatures, and strong social and emotional connections contribute to mental health, happiness, and well-being. Studies show that people with rich social lives often experience better health outcomes and greater life satisfaction.

Unfortunately technology has played a big part in us feeling disconnected. And I suspect it will only get worse too! I spend a lot of time alone these days, since becoming an empty nester. But I am never lonely and enjoy my job, where I get to have a laugh with workmates every day. For a few months though, after my daughter left home, I did feel overwhelmed with sadness and did isolate myself. No one knew of the sadness I was feeling, and going through this 'depression' phase all alone... well, let's just say, I am grateful I managed to pull myself out of it

Yes! It is very important to stay connected - both with family and friends! It very good for your mental health and social life. Parents who have children with social anxiety should help create a little community around them help develop their social skills.

Maybe some people need to be more connected but I can speak only of myself. I have a close-knit extended family, a small circle of very good friends and acquaintances, a few thousand followers on a really social media platform, and last, but not least my pussycat and my dog. I recently underwent a mental health test performed by a qualified psychiatrist and I passed with 99 out of a possible 100 points. Verdict: Mental health in the top 1 % of the population. Having read the verdict, it gave me a real kick.

Mental health can be a real issue. My daughter in law is bipolar and her mental health damages her entire family. I really have to support my son, who comes and stays the night sometimes because he does not want to be abusive. I have to tell my Grandchildren Mommy didn't really mean what she said. We do need to be more connected and support our family and friends who are suffering. Social media can be great, but having someone wrap their arms around you and say "I understand" means the world.

I think its sad there's a lot of loneliness in the world & having someone you can talk to/check in with/waffle rubbish with, is very important. I see on our facebook local community page quite a few groups are around for people to meet up weekly, partly for shared interests (crafts, sports etc), but mainly to connect with others.

I am learning not to rely on others...be happy with myself...and be happy on my own too...(im not alone I have my partner of 41 yrs) - how ever he works on the weekends when im home so I spend a lot of time on my own....my mentor tells us, to distance ourselves even from love ones...to not be reliant on them for ur own needs. I meditate, I ground myself to the earth daily. get sun, get moon if u can, learn to shield urself from harmful negative energies (ppl), learn to say NO to others, get a lot of 'me' time to chill. Learn to love urself.....with all ur faults. xx

thats what the govt is hopin for.. isolating ppl from each other makes u dependent on them (the govt), makes u scared.. makes u easily manipulated. NWO is coming....

As someone who was always available and prioritized family and friends but was dumped by them all when I got a cancer diagnosis, I can attest to fact that most people are quite able to receive but unwilling to give. All I needed was encouragement and to know I was still loved despite role reversal from caregiver to needing a shoulder to cry on. Today I’m alive, a walking miracle per doctors and I never turn down a request to meet a newly diagnosed and SCARED cancer patient who I try to give the emotional support they need and deserve. The friends and family who cruelly rejected me are now in my rear view mirror as I count my blessings and hope those I meet at oncology centers benefit from our talks.

"A nightmare" yes I agree, that's one way of putting it.

As we all get older some of our older friends die or become confused. Friends we have known for decades change to silent friends and our ability to widen our list of acquaintances gets harder. I'm just stating what I have found in my life but I guess I don't know of a successful alternative to the scarcity of friends I now suffer. Thankfully, I still have a partner.

Always take time, in my opinion to check!. You should ALWAYS care :bc you never know when someone was going to commit self harm or take their life and you might have been the person they needed to prevent such a lonely and sad act. Edited 05-Sep-22 17:59pm

something went wrong yesterday with games playing, actually I cannot play certain games, and when I start new game isn't shoving anything but blank screen, anyone knows why?

Is anybody else noticing the adverts on the right hand side. All about 'diploma of mental health' and 'study psychology online' etc. Has this group just been ad-targeted? Or am I being paranoid?

this might be a simplistic view on mental health but it has worked to a degree in our house she has suffered from depression now for thirty years we decided to change our lives started a business and quit our jobs she has been a lot happier now we are in retirement and she's on a lot fewer meds not for everyone I know, but we just changed our lives and it changed our lives

Yes we should always check in with others to let them know we will listen if that's what they need.

I am the type that enjoys isolation and being alone. I dont like the burden of knowing information about other people or feeling responsible in any way to anyone other than my husband and kids. I do have mental health issues myself, social anxiety being one of them and by being alone doing what I need to feel better is what works for me.

I think sometimes we should ditch the tech and live without it a bit more than we do. Remember, BIG BROTHER is watching and listening to us all.

So true! Especially for the elderly I think. They are content to stay by themselves and often whether intentional or unintentional they push away their loved ones.

There is no chance for being normal social human anymore. People stopped connected as soon as they have got their magic hand boxes with lots of buttons and then no buttons, whatever. Technology is developing fast and it doesn't leave any chance for human connection. They are already growing babies in capsules so people stop creating families and start being hard-working faceless masses with round-swirly eyes. :D:D:D

In the old days you could only communicate in person, landline phone, telegrams or writing letters via snail mail. These days there are MANY more ways to communicate, which is good but is also bad because it means there are more ways to be bullied. Communication, especially during lockdowns and the fears of covid-19 and other horrific things in the world, is extremely important, especially for people who live alone and for young people who are use to "Hanging Out" with friends. Firstly, these young people should NOT allow themselves to get depressed during lockdowns because they can still communicate with friends online, via text or phone calls. As for older people living alone, they also have access to other people online, such as this Forum Board; but they do need more, therefore regularly check on your older relatives and strangers should talk to them when they see them out shopping or paying bills, this will let them know that someone cares and that they are NOT alone. Just last night on the TV news, there was a doctor stating that due to these constant ongoing lockdowns there are a larger number of teenagers and children as young as 5 years old who are self-harming and talking about suicide. This doctor also said that although these numbers of people are rising they cannot get in to see a counsellor, psychiatrist or psychologist because they are ALL booked out months ahead. More needs to be done by our governments to help these people. They need to employ many more counsellors and set up more help lines

You are so right Lyn..when having a particularly bad day or week its too hard connect with friends etc but you don't want to tell them when you feel crap as that depressing for them-esp when there's little they can do to help!

yes people need to be more connected.

I don't think so

the lockdowns have shown that people need to connect in person. Social media is a partial cause of mental health. It has its place but person to person contact is the best way. Especially now with cars in plenty which was not the case in years gone by. No excuse to not meet people.

OF COURSE

Well I am probably going to stir some feathers here ... but I honestly think a lot of the problem is our current lifestyle. So many people are controlled by either their mobile phone or social media. People used to get out more. People used to have gardens that they could enjoy and these days a lot of people are living in either apartments or pokey little places or houses all up against one another...I have even read articles from Experts that this type of living can cause depression and mental health issues. Don't worry I am expecting some negative response ....... it is just what I believe. I fully understand that the days of big gardens are out - but I feel they have gone to the other extreme.

Yes we need to connect more, but not through technology

The great existential French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre wrote in one of his plays titled (No Exit) his Famous phrase " L'enfer, c'est less auters" which translates to Hell is the others, so others even with good intentions may turn your life into a living hell. Edited 06-Mar-21 20:07pm

It wouldn't hurt.

Some people need others around them - others prefer their own company. I just wish that everyone was caring about others.

I agree that human connection is one of the most fundamental parts of the human psyche. I love the concept of RU okay for that reason, knowing there are those who do not have that connection. Caring about others is a healing in itself. I understand, that everyone has their own opinion...some do prefer their solitude. Kaz x

It is very important to keep in touch with friends especially one are alone?

I think that what has happened with society is that we are all to busy earning the almighty dollar to buy a lot of tech gadgets and other crap that we don’t have any connection with reality anymore .... new cars, overseas holidays, big houses trying to keep up with social influencers who for some pathetic reason seem to have a hold on our minds these days ... if people worried less over a lot of s**t that’s really unimportant in the scheme of things our metal health would be so much better ... not to mention the amount of illegal substances that go down people’s throats or in their veins to apparently help them enjoy life ... we are so busy trying to avoid reality that we actually forget to enjoy the moments of beauty each day ... yes loneliness is a problem because we don’t look at and spend real time together

I'm always alone, all my old friends have passed away and the only one I had left just had his licence taken because he was diagnosed with dementia, I joined 2 groups so I get to see people twice a week for 2 hours but that's it. Since my little dog passed away 16 weeks ago I really thought I was going mental with depression, my little dog was my life and now I feel there is no purpose or worth

l can remember taking my daughter to school in the morning and it would take me until lunch time to get home because people would talk to you from their yards and get to know you, it was great, now you say hello and people look at you as if you are after some thing or you are going to attack them or rob them, it's so sad. New people move into the your street and you welcome them and they think you are casing their place, it's scary.

You've explained it explained it very well but sometimes people really do just want to be left alone as they can't muster the energy even to talk to anyone. So keeping a quiet eye on them and giving them a friendly wave let's them know that you understand and are they for them when they are ready.

more connected? Remember when people would actually sit and communicate with others face to face. that was being really connected when you were exposed to ALL the channels(bondy language, tonal inferences and ambience,,,not just interacting with a bloody small picture on a phone

Good topic Lyn and good name too from Lyn B. There are a lot of people suffering from mental health issues at the moment and the virus has not done anything to help this. I do feel that everyone of us is capable of just a little kindness and asking our neighbours, family, people we meet if they are OK if they look down. I always speak to people in shopping centres, at bus stops etc and will always smile. A lot people feel that mental illness is to be avoided as they are 'not normal'. This is so not true. At the moment I have a son in law who is suffering from depression very badly. He is in the fortunate position, if you can call it that, as to having family and friends that are constantly on the phone to him. He also has private health insurance and that makes a difference as the cost of admission is $1000 a day which includes psych visits, drugs, seminars, food etc. I do feel that the government is letting people down and this sort of service should be available for everyone.Edited 06-Mar-21 16:25pm

Be kind to each other and keep in touch

Yes we all need to look after each other

Yes, definitely.

connected? yes please. Take a look at the commuter bus stop. everyone on their phones, no conversation even though those people see the same people every day.

We will always have mental heath issues amongst the community

I have a niece that has mental issues which are quite severe to the stage where she has attempted to take her life multiple times but luckily failed however she has also very much mutilated herself at the same time.She is now 21 and still has major relapses of self mutilation.Many of our family have tried to reach out to her over the years including myself and she has even been in respite care institutions.It is really sad because she is a lovely young lady with so much potential to make something of herself but over here in NZ the mental health system has failed her as well as many others and that is only half the problem.Many so called professionals said there is nothing wrong with her and it is all to do with attention seeking but this was recently proven wrong as she has now been diagnosed with border line personality disorder which is one of the most commonly misdiagonsed mental health conditions out there.

I agree we do isolate when our mentalhealth isnt good.it's important to have at least 1 secial,close,trustworthy friend who you can talk to and that will check up on you when you're withdrawn

I agree with you Lyn. Mental health issues can be terrible...

I try to keep in touch with friends and family and can usually tell when something is not right with them. Only a few people have my cell number, and I tell them if they want to get hold of me ring the landline as I refuse to carry a phone around everywhere. I use it mainly connected to the car for navigation or information I may need.

Loneliness kills more people than smoking - I read it somewhere. I don’t know how they got to this result but it makes a lot of sense to me.

The thing is these days, people seem to have lost the ability to hold a conversation, I've seen people sitting next to each other sending tex to one another. Most teenagers can't take their eyes off the screen, in the old days, if jaywalking you got fined but these days it's open slather.

Yes we should ask other people if they are okay and if they so yes i am okay but you think other wise say something to someone. Go and see people that say I'm okay but are not really.

I think due to technology everyone is becoming disconnected. We are pack animals really and need social interaction. My view is everyone should put down their phones, get away from the ipads etc. and either play sport, have a coffee or drink with some friends. go to the beach, park, wherever. Interact with life not a screen.

Most of the people I see are far to busy looking at their phones to the extent that they have no idea what is going on around themselves. I've seen people walk onto a raod in front of an oncoming vehicle oblivious to the traffic on the roads or the best one one woman so engrosed in her phone that she walked into my puppy and freeled out when she saw what she had walked into. I dsaw her coming so I stopped 15 meters away and got my little Great Dane to sit and despite the vocal commands I gave she still ignored everything around her till she could go no further. I don't thing that need to be connected more if anything less connected to silly bits of Plastic and they should be communicating with people who are real not what they see on their phones who are anything but real.

Call me selfish but I prefer my own company but I am not isolated or isolating. If I want company that is ok; if I want solitude, that is ok too. Folk are way too reliant i.e. counselling to help themselves when there is an issue. We never had counselling in our day (we might have debriefed with a trusted friend); no one needed it then and guess what?? sure as hell don't need it now.Edited 06-Mar-21 10:03am

I regard myself as an urban hermit but I keep in touch with family and the neighbours. I don’t want to be dead in my house for a month before anyone notices

With all the electr onic gadgetry around which we see almost everyone wherever they are be it on buses, trams, trains, in cars, at restaurants, cafe's bistros, in supermarkets - you name any place you can think of and there they all are stuck on their mobile phones, their i-pad, tablets communicating with others and they have been doing this for a very long time now. Along comes Covid19 and all of a sudden people are complaining about being isolated, alone, in quarantine, not allowed to go out to a cafe - where, even when they are with others, they all sit messaging on teir bits of gear. If you believe in any gods then let them help you if you ever actually are entirely isolated, or, if as happens every time their is a religion-caused war people get captured and their families have no idea whether or not that are actually alive and that can go on for years. Yes, Mental Health Issues are very serious - but the politicians don't care until it affects them but let's not blame Covid19 for causing it, That mental

The problem is because we use messaging and other forms of communication rather than talking face to face, we miss the signs of mental health issues. Nobody thinks anything is wrong when you isolate because so many of us do it, some do it because they are okay in their own company, others do it because they have problems. Because we don't interact with people face to face this causes problems that we don't notice.

This is some true

I totally agree

Yes I agree No one notices what is happening and things just get worse.

Turn the switch on

I can't believe so many people bottle up their problems instead of talking to someone about it

we need to go back to speaking to people rather then texting some times people say they spoke to someone but they texted

I think being more connected with others is good thing for people to do especially Covid-19 making it hard for people stay connected with each other.

Yes it is hard these days you can be targeted if you have bad mental health .That and no good paying jobs is making corona virus worse people are being abused verbal y continue is ly that is making the vires worse people are under to much presher and there is not a lot of hope or good in the world you can not do anything and people treat each others like a dogs I. Think that being connect end to help people helps to make you fell human there are to many robots and no room for humans or love in the world .I do love animal s and garden s they can be better then people for your mental health god help us all let life be good and happy and let there be work for the people and love and hope for a better tomorrow not a worse one

It's hard to reach out to people because you don't know whether they care enough to actually listen. It's great if you can find someone to confide in. But sometimes, it's also good to write your thoughts and feelings down.

One, a very good topic (made me think in a positive manner - which I enjoy doing). Two, I am a self-confess loner - I enjoy being alone (not the same as being lonely) - maybe a too little much (anti-social behavior - maybe!?). Three, in my humble opinion we need to be more connected to each other (as much as I don't like admitting it) - humans are social entities - including me!! Last, too much self-isolation (for non health reasons) is not a good THANG (speaking strictly from a personal experience perspective)!!Edited 06-Mar-21 17:08pm

Some people don't want to be connected. However just to know that someone is alive and well is enough. There is nothing worse than not knowing. How can you help if they do not want your help? Sometimes the mental health issue is the problem in itself instigating the need to be alone and independent and not to take any more responsibilities in relationships. Connection works both ways. It has to be voluntary.Edited 06-Mar-21 02:21am

I can’t wait to get up in the morning\lunchtime and have a little look at what’s been written on this discussion.

Bear in mind that some people really like their own company and are perfectly happy on their own...they may really not want you to call around all the time and just keep talking and talking to them about things that they have no interest in...I have had these type of neighbours in the past...and they are very lucky that I can see the funny side of it....seriously...

Kind of used to being alone now, not sure I want to be more connected again