You know what this period of isolation and lockdown has done to your world and to you. Not to mention how Covid itself has impacted you if you fought off the virus directly. We are created to live in groups. We were not wired for isolation. It is important to know that it creates a sense of shame within a person when isolated, and we’re still coming out of this.
This isolation can give us the sense that we have been rejected from our community, stigmatized, and defeated. Shame even creates sickness as it disrupts our immune systems. This disrupted immune system happens because an inflammatory response is triggered. Cytokines are immune system biochemicals that, like cortisol, are great in small, manageable doses. But are harmful if we don’t have the perceived resources to manage it. If this continues, the health consequences can be depression, anxiety, feeling like a burden, and not being able to see the point of life. Not good.
Reversing this storm of cytokines and the inflammatory response, is very possible and according to Dr. Kellman in The Whole Brain, it looks a lot like experiencing awe again. He says, “…awe is a stunning sense of encountering something larger than ourselves, a realm much vaster than the one we ordinarily inhabit.” We often experience awe in nature. It can be as simple as a sunrise. Breathing in the smell of rain on a hot summer’s day. And feeling the sunshine against your face in the early hours of the morning. It is the simple realization that we are a part of something greater than ourselves. Awe is the single most powerful emotion to reduce inflammation and prevent disease. So get curious and explore your world by taking one step outside your front door.
What is one thing you can do today to help you feel this way too? It doesn’t have to be more videos – try something else that will inspire you and make you feel awe-struck too.
