UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIALIZATION AND OUR MENTAL HEALTH

I'm an introvert, I'm born that way. Nothing will change that. Oh, I hate crowded places, I hate parties, why do they have to invite me for a guys out, Oh, why are they ruining my alone time. These are what a lot people do say, and I for one I'm a bit in this category of people. I don't like answering calls, I'm like why are you disturbing me. Well, these are characteristics traits of introverts. But one thing that we should all know, nobody was born to be introvert, yeah, you could be calm by default but that doesn't mean you can't mingle with people. I for one try as much to mingle with my close relations a lot which is quite healthy but upon my latest research, I guess I will have to broaden my association a bit. When you start reading convincing theories on how people who lack social skills are more prone to die early, have diseases and so on, I guess you will have to change your lifestyle for the better. I for one don't want to die anytime soon and I know you also don't want to die soon.

This article is meant for everyone, be you an extrovert or introvert it will be helpful if you all read through this article. For introverts, this article will be a warning sign for you to socialize more, while for extroverts you can give your introverted friends so they can change their ways, hence, this article is a must read(smiles).

We Are Social Creatures By Default

We are all social creatures, it's in our DNA to be social. Why do I say so? Why are we born into a family? To socialize with one another. So why are you now, isolating yourself from the world? We are born into a society, that we integrate with, in other to feel among. We crave to be part of a society, that's why kids are at their happiest when they play together. Imagine throwing a birthday party for a kid and nobody comes, will the kid be happy, hell no. The idea of a birthday party is for socialization, to bring loved ones together and create a blissful experience.

Ask yourself how our primate ancestors survived during their time. They had to socialize in other to create way that could help them in times of adversity. They communicated on how to create weapons, how to attack their preys, how to protect their family, etc. No one person can survive on their own. We need people in our lives to survive.

How Can Socializing Ensure Good Mental Health

There are so many ways in which socializing can help ensure good mental health. It's actually obvious if we sit and look at the isolated people in our lives. They may be richer than you but you don't see any spark of happiness or joy around them. Can you imagine isolating yourself for 2 weeks, no calls, no interaction, just you with your laptop or game and how it would feel, just do it right now. It feels awful right, while to some other people, it's best feeling? That's just life. The funny thing is that those of us that socialize don't even know the health benefits we get just by talking to that person or group of people, don't worry yourself, I will let you in.

• Socializing Is Like A Vaccine: According to a Psychologist, Susan Pinker, who said that face-to-face socialization is like a vaccine for stress and anxiety. But how is this possible? Whenever we have a face-to-face conservation our nervous system secretes neurotransmitters tasked with acting like a vaccine to stress and anxiety. We usually feel more relaxed when we speak about our troubles with someone, even though, they don't solve it, but we feel some kind of relieve. And that's why we normally see people drinking at bar, and talking, trying to release some stress off their body, and sometimes, after such episodes, some of these people come out with the actual solution to their problems. A study carried out by MNT, suggest that a touch from a romantic partner goes a super long way in reducing stress. And that's why in movies you see a stressed man resting his head on the laps of his romantic partner. Well, According to Psychologist Susan Pinker,

Face-to-face contact releases a whole cascade of neurotransmitters and, like a vaccine, they protect you now, in the present, and well into the future, so simply […] shaking hands, giving somebody a high-five is enough to release oxytocin, which increases your level of trust, and it lowers your cortisol levels, so it lowers your stress. Source

• Improves Our Brain: Yeah, it should be obvious that socialization helps to improve our brain. You don't want to be the dull one in the group, do you? When I was still in University, I normally take some tutorial classes carried out by my very own classmate, and I wonder why he is so good and so eager to learn. I didn't know there could be a scientific evidence to prove why classmates that teach other classmates are good and more eager to learn. Well, according to Prof. Matthew Lieberman,

If you learn in order to teach someone else, then you learn better than if you learn in order to take a test. Source.

People often do better when they notice that people are motivating them to do better. That's why in Football/Soccer, when a team plays a home game, they play better because their fans are behind them, cheering them up. Same with academics, a child who has a supportive parents will often do better than a kid who is neglected by his/her parents. Hence, socializing helps our brain without us knowing it. Prof. Matthew Lieberman also said;

When you’re socially motivated to learn, the social brain can do the learning and it can do it better than the analytical network that you typically activate when you try to memorize. Source

• Improves Longevity: Socially active people tends to live longer than isolated people. They get the required amount of love that sustain life. As an aged person, if you are always bored, life becomes meaningless. When the soul and body starts accepting that life is meaningless, it won't be long before the person dies. Whereas a socially active aged person, who is in company of his age mates, cracking jokes that only they know, will wake up every morning with happiness and willingness to live on. If you notice those small communities where they all live as one, when one person is in trouble, the entire community supports such person. You always see many great grand parents in such communities. According to a study carried out by Dr. Archelle Georgiou, in a small island in Greece called Ikaria, he noticed how the old people over there are strong and happy. He noticed almost everyone there gets old. Whenever he comes across any family, he sees their great grand parents. He was shocked and amazed. How is this possible? he pondered. He started noticing that these old people are constantly surrounded with their children or grandchildren, or neighbours. They are constantly talking or listening to people talk, sing or crack jokes. There's a communal bond. Everyone took care of each other. They all supported themselves financially and emotionally. Well, according to the two authors' of the book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, Hector Garcia and Albert Liebermann,

It is customary in Okinawa to form close bonds within local communities. A moai is an informal group of people with common interests who look out for one another. For many, serving the community becomes part of their ikigai [life purpose]. Source.

• Reduce Chances Of Developing Dementia: First thing first, what's Dementia? Dementia can be said to be a memory disorder that are mostly developed by the elderly. You might have seen it in real life or movies, where elderly people, normally forget things, such as, who they are, their children, in other words, their reality. I presume most of you reading this article, are following Money Heist, if not, try it out, it's a good seasonal movie. The mother of the Inspector, Raquel Murillo, is a good example of someone suffering from Dementia. This memory disorder mostly leads to death and everyone around the world can reduce their chances of developing this unfriendly disorder by socializing more often. According to a study carried out by PLOS Medicine, which says that the elderly have a 12% less chance of developing dementia by socializing more often. For example, a grand dad who sees either his family members or friends daily have a 12% less chance of getting dementia than a grand dad, who sees either his family members or friends monthly. It's therefore necessary to try and keep some good family ties, so as to help you when you get old. And if you have an elderly person that you think isn't having much social activities, be there for such person, you might just be saving a life. Well according to Dr Andrew Sommerlad, who is a University College London Psychiatry, who said;

Here we've found that social contact, in middle age and late life, appears to lower the risk of dementia. This finding could feed into strategies to reduce everyone's risk of developing dementia, adding yet another reason to promote connected communities and find ways to reduce isolation and loneliness. Source

Also according to Professor Gill Livingston who is also Psychiatry at the University College London, said;

People who are socially engaged are exercising cognitive skills such as memory and language, which may help them to develop cognitive reserve - while it may not stop their brains from changing, cognitive reserve could help people cope better with the effects of age and delay any symptoms of dementia. Source

Conclusion

Yeah, I just read this awesome article, I and my friends will go jump from a cliff, or I and my friends will smoke weed all day, or I and my friends will like to hike to an unknown place. I'm not telling you to forget who you are and what you like to do, I'm only telling you to loosen up a bit and socialize with people more often. My number one rule in life is moderation, moderate the way and manner you socialize. Anything done in excess or deficit isn't healthy. Kindly write out one thing you can do in excess or deficit that is healthy in the comments below, good luck finding anyone(smiles). All I'm saying is that improve your social skills and enjoy the benefits it gives you.

There will be continuation for this topic, because I have some more information that I still want to share but the length of the article is already discouraging for some people to read, smiles. So keep your eyes on the look out for the Part 2.

Well, amid this unprecedented Covid-19, now isn't the best time to be super social. Maintain the rules, 6 feet distance and put on your face masks if necessary. You can video call family members and friends to check up on them. The world is a social place, that's why inventions keep coming, to help improve socialization. We have snapchat, whatsapp and many more social media apps that can help us socialize in difficult times like this. Hence, SOCIALIZE.

So Till Next Time, Stay Safe.

References

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