A Case for Connection

This November, ASU hosted United States Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy for a conversation on loneliness and isolation. Part of Murthy’s “We Are Made to Connect” tour of college campuses across the US, the visit reinforced the hazards of disconnection and social isolation and urged students to seek out connection in light of what Murthy calls an “epidemic” of public health.

Now, as Murthy’s tour concludes, his office has launched the 5-for-5 Connection Challenge, urging participants to pick five consecutive days between December 4th and 15th to connect with people in their lives. Taking one simple action per day to express gratitude, offer support, or ask for help and then reflecting on and sharing stories of their experiences via social media with the hashtag #MadeToConnect, students, staff, faculty and community members can highlight the value of genuine connection.

These simple actions can take a variety of forms, from expressing gratitude toward someone for being a part of our lives to sharing a few minutes of our presence with someone or connecting through contemplation of shared experiences.

“These are all things many of us do every day,” notes ASU Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience executive director Nika Gueci.

“But what’s truly beneficial about this challenge is that it asks us to do it with purpose and intent.”

Center’s team will be participating in the challenge, and Gueci encourages faculty, staff and students across ASU to do the same. Genuine connection doesn’t just feel good – it is good for us, mentally, emotionally and physically. 

But why is this? Why do small acts of connection, gratitude, and goodwill make us feel so good?

Zachary Reeves-Blurton, Gueci’s assistant director at Center, explains that even small daily acts of compassion, gratitude and connection can not only have lasting impacts on our emotional state, but ‘recharge’ our social batteries.

“Positive, genuine connection with others stimulates the release of the brain’s ‘feel-good’ hormones – endorphins, oxytocin, and dopamine,” he explains. 

“Collectively, these hormones play a critical role in regulating and balancing our brain chemistry. They essentially let us ‘hack’ the brain to override our stress responses or overcome social anxieties.”

Endorphins, for example, are the body’s natural painkillers, and are released when we exercise, when we meditate, and when we laugh. 

Oxytocin is the hormone that helps us feel nurtured and loved and is called our ‘bonding’ hormone and is responsible for the fuzzy feeling of relaxation and goodwill when we feel connected to others. Our brains release this chemical when we are actively feeling compassion, are empathizing with others about positive experiences, or when we feel a sense of connection.

Meanwhile, dopamine – which is released when we are experiencing gratitude – triggers positive emotions, a sense of optimism, and fosters prosocial behaviors. This means it not only gives us those warm fuzzy feelings toward others and a general sense of goodwill and positivity, but makes it easier to seek out connection.

In encouraging social behavior and bonding, creating a sense of optimism, buoying our mood, and combating stress, these hormones help us become more connected to others, more likely to reach out to others in times of difficulty, and more resilient to challenges.

“The strategies the Surgeon General’s website mentions,” notes Gueci, “are some of the same examples we provide for overcoming social anxieties, loneliness, and disconnection.”

For more information, to join in the 5-for-5 Connection Challenge, or for simple connection ideas, visit the Surgeon General’s website, and keep an eye on Center’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages over the next two weeks for our connection stories!