In my blog post about Hormesis, I talked about the importance of good stress. I described why leaning into challenge is good for the brain and body and why we shouldn’t shy away from difficult situations in life. One of these challenges that we encounter almost daily is communication.
Communication is a fundamental aspect to our being and one of the best ways we can improve our health. But honestly, it is hard! Now I don’t just mean casually talking to someone, describing what you had for breakfast or what you do for work.
I mean talking deeply to someone. Opening up. I mean the kind of communication you feel in your bones that involves powerful emotions, deep logic or energy. Because that is the kind of communication that moves people, unpacks buried feelings and facilitates inspiration. That is the kind of communication that has powerful health benefits.
The importance of simply talking to someone, in person, face to face, open and honestly cannot be overstated. Whether it’s with a professional through a scientifically validated practice like CBT, or with a loved one, the health benefits can be profound:
Less back pain
Less depression
Better heart health
Better sleep
Greater emotional management
Effective Communication
So how do you communicate more effectively? How do you go deeper with someone and realize these health benefits? Here are a few aspects of greater communication and really connecting with someone:
- Ask questions – be more interested in them that interesting to them
- Deploy empathy – put yourself in their shoes and see things through their eyes
- Be genuine – let them know you are coming from a good place and any negative emotions that may occur during the conversation are out of love
Emotions are likely to occur when communicating deeply with someone. And sometimes they can be negative. But be mindful of this and anticipate it. Understand that you have a rational, logical aspect to your brain that can calm the emotional aspect. And talking through the negative emotions can help do that! Rationalizing through spoken words can help calm the amygdala and activate the cortex.
So, take time to connect and communicate deeply with a loved one, a friend or a colleague every day. Not only can you improve your own health and well-being, but you can do the same for the person you are talking to simply with your words.
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