The need to belong
Humans are
social animals. Evolutionarily speaking, it is fair to say that social bonding
has helped us survive. It is a tough world out there, and we have a lot better
shot at thriving if we're sharing resources and responsibilities, protecting
and supporting each other in groups. The is not say you need to be joined at
the hip with everyone-our social needs have to be balanced with our autonomy,
or sense of personal control, so we feel both connected and independent. However,
sometimes we are denied that sense of belonging. We have all experienced the
pain of being ignored or rejected at some point in our lives. It is worse than
just about anything. The evidence for this is bundant - one recent study
suggested that teenagers who had a sense of belonging to their community had
better health and emotional outcome than those who did not feel like they
belonged. Cultures all over the world actually use ostracism, or social
exclusion, as a type of punishment whether it's kids in time-out, adults in exile,
or prisoners in solitary confinement, separation feels like a punch in the gut
0 comments: