Have the events of the past few years made you feel more isolated than ever before? Last week the team at Quit smoking in 60 minutes went for a bush walk in the hills behind the Gold Coast in Australia. its a brilliant place to get out into nature and destress. The area is very popular, and we passed many people whilst walking.
What struck me the most was the majority of people tried to pass us without any greeting and would not look you in the eye. The energy coming off these people said ‘leave me alone’ I don’t want to communicate with you. This is sad as I cannot see why you wouldn’t greet a fellow human being. I know I am operating from my values, but the connection with others is essential to living healthy, connected lives. Isolating yourself is a bad idea. Lack of connection and feeling isolated leads to depression, anxiety and lowered self-worth and low self-confidence. Our world has a tsunami of people suffering from mental health. Connection is the key. R U OK needs you to look at others and connect.
Window to the Soul
They say that the eyes are the window to the soul, and I find that when I look into a person’s eyes, even briefly, the contract between us is much stronger. Again when you cannot look a person in the eye, it says a lot about you. It conveys a sense of guilt and nervousness, almost as if that person is better than you. When you add smoking to these behaviours, you compound this sense of isolation. These days smoking cigarettes is anti-social, the very words conveying isolation. When you smoke, anywhere, you are excluded and isolated from those around you.
This isolation is detrimental to a smoker’s mental health. Try to be understanding. Think of the ‘person’ not the habit and still say hello, or acknowledge. It might be a sign of the times, but I, for one, will continue to greet everyone and look people I pass in the eye.