How to Build Deeper Human Connections(at any age)

On September 25, 2024 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, healing, Mind, Mind-Mental Health, Positive Self Reflection6 Comments

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” ~ Carl Jung

In our age of uber connectivity human connection is not such a common phenomenon. We see lots of people but find our little cucoons to hide in. We don’t realize we’re craving a deeper connection with others until we actually find it. That is because deep human connections are Healing!

After publishing last weeks article where I shared my thoughts on how we have become so independent and how it is actually depressing us…my inbox was flooded with emails. All from beautiful souls of all age groups and demographics who felt the same way and were curious to learn how to build deeper human connections. Because it IS hard to do so. I get it. We all struggle with this.

Cultural norms come in the way and make it hard to connect with other humans – we’re supposed to talk about the weather, sports, the news, but not our deepest struggles. We’re supposed to say cool or funny things, but not share our greatest hopes for our lives or the person we want to become.

It’s hard BUT…

It’s hard, but… human connection is one of the most powerful healing forces available to us. We don’t realize we thirst for it, but we do, and the thirst is deep and very very real. When I find real human connection, it nourishes my soul, changes me, moves me to tears.

Building deeper human connections plays a positive and powerful role in emotional and mental healing. Here’s how:

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We’ve become SO independent, it’s depressing us(and what you can do about it)

On September 15, 2024 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, healing, Mind, Mind, Heart& Soul-Motivation&Inspiration, Mind-Mental Health7 Comments

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“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” ~ Ryunosuke Satoro

Many years ago, one of my spiritual teachers shared this story with me. I would like to share it with you all today.

The story is about a village where all the women washed clothes together down by the river. When they all got washing machines, there was a sudden outbreak of depression and no one could figure out why. It wasn’t the washing machines that could do such a thing. It was actually the absence of time spent doing things together. It was the absence of community.

We’ve all gotten so independent these days… Our birthday wishes have also becomes so impersonal over texts, whatsapp or facebook. We rarely pick up the phone to talk, everything is done over texts. I feel like the human to human connection in this uber connected world is severely missing. Read on to know what you can do about it…

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How to Be Kind with Yourself – 5 Gentle Ways

On September 2, 2024September 2, 2024 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, Mind, Mind-Mental Health3 Comments

“The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.” ~ Maya Angelou

Do you tend to be your own worst critic? Do you judge yourself harshly? Do you blame yourself for anything and everything that goes wrong?

Firstly, let me clarify that its good and healthy to hold yourself accountable, but self-compassion, kindness and gentleness with yourself is a necessity for mental health and healing as well. Let me offer you some tried and tested ways to practice being Kind and Gentle with Yourself…

Healing through treating yourself with Kindness

“When we give ourselves compassion, we are opening our hearts in a way that can transform our lives.” ~ Kristin Neff

People often assume that the best way to motivate yourself is to keep on being self-critical with yourself. That could not be further from the truth. Unfortunately, being constantly critical with yourself can take a real emotional toll. It can trigger depression, anxiety, immensely low self-esteem and self-worth issues, or an unhealthy and unreal level of perfectionism.

If you have found that you tend to be hard on yourself, don’t worry. There are many things you can do to change that negative cycle. I am listing many such positive and healing strategies below that I sometimes reccommend during therapy session, which can be effective treatments for anxiety and depression.

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