Shobina

Connection as a form of wellbeing Friendship and wellbeing are more closely connected than most of us realise. In 2010, researchers led by Julianne Holt-Lunstad brought together 148 studies covering more than 300,000 people. They found that people with stronger social relationships had a 50% greater likelihood of survival over the study periods, an effect comparable to well-known factors such as quitting smoking. One reason, the authors suggest, is that the support of others helps buffer the...

We know how to make friends. We just can't find the right ones. Most advice about connection assumes we've forgotten how to be friendly. Say hello. Ask questions. Be a good listener. As if the problem were a lack of manners. But most of us know how to make friends. We've done it at school, at work, at the school gate, in new cities. What we can't seem to do is find the right ones: the people we don't have to perform for, who feel like recognition rather than effort. So the real question isn't...

Light Lower energy, withdrawal and a slower pace of life used to be talked about openly, not as failure, but as part of the season. Somewhere along the way, that understanding faded. Today, the winter blues are often something to push through quietly or fix quickly. But learning how to cope with winter blues starts with naming what's happening. Many people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), changes in mood and energy linked to shorter days and disrupted rhythms. It isn’t weakness....