 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 going to 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 them was Big Potential by Sean Aker, the other one was Lost Connections by Johan 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 ancestors back in the hunter and gatherer days. You're part of this tribe. You're a tribe who lives together, thrives together, moves around together, all sorts of stuff. This is what our brains are actually developed based on. The people who survived pass along genes that give us the different traits that we have today. 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 going to run some errands or whatever it is that you do, and you get lost from the tribe. Now think about this. If you get sick, who's going to be there to take care of you? If you get attacked by an animal and you're injured, who's going to 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? So 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 are 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're someone who feels that you don't have any type of support group, you constantly got to 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, we talk about the problem. We focus on the solution. Here is a suggestion I have for all of you. Realize that there's a difference between being introverted and isolating. That's the first thing to realize. It's okay to be introverted and not go out and be the life of the party and 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. All right? The more that you get comfortable around people and start seeing yourself as one of the tribe, your depression, 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 be in Times Square in New York City and you're with thousands and thousands and 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. All right? 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. If you're new here, make sure you hit that subscribe button. 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. All right? So thank you so much for watching. Quit isolating and I'll see you next time.