I have been hearing from a lot of people lately that they feel “disconnected,” “lonely,” “irrelevant,” and “lost.” When I ask them what has changed, they all seem to attribute this to job stress, pressures of daily life, or just plain depression, like it’s an expected state of mind. When I ask, most of them do not engage in as much physical movement as they report that they used to do.

Some report that watching movies, TV, and video games, as well as social media as their go-to recharge activities. I am hearing this often enough that I cannot ignore the correlation. I believe that as a society, we are forgetting how to feel. Let me clarify, we are losing touch with our actual environment by replacing sensory input with virtual experiences. Behaviorally speaking, we are teaching ourselves not to have to use all of our senses, in essence a sort of reverse evolution.

I am not saying to go back to the horse and buggy days, but I do feel that we should consider limiting our exposure to electronics and media and supplementing each day with physical experiences and face-to-face interactions. And I mean EVERY DAY. We are designed to move. We are wired to communicate with others and connect with our immediate environment; touch, smell, listen, taste, and see what is around you. Some call this mindfulness; I call it being human. Use technology as a tool when needed, but take breaks and remember to plug in to life. I believe that you will soon find that you will feel more connected, less lonely, more relevant, and less lost. Let me know how it goes if you are inclined. I would love to hear from you.