Loneliness

As a society we are spending more time on technology and less on interpersonal relationships.  Just like we need food and water to nourish our bodies, we need face to face interaction with others to nourish our souls.

Over time we’ve become less involved with our churches, community organizations, neighbors, even our families.  The pretty picture we paint on Facebook often isn’t reality. But the façade we present to others while we are hurting and lonely on the inside.

What used to be second nature to us; having lunch with a friend, talking to your neighbors, partaking in a community group has now been replaced by working from home, scrolling on social media, binge streaming shows and Tik Tok.

The solution, while simple, can be hard to do.

Put down your phone, get off your laptop, put your iPad away.

• Talk to your friends and family while out to eat or at the dinner table. Make mealtimes a phone free zone!
• Join a local club. Reading, hiking, gardening, whatever your interests are, there’s a club for that.
• Clubs aren’t your thing, that’s okay. Reach out to a friend or coworker and go for a walk. Take your dog to the dog park and visit with other people who are crazy about their dogs too.
• Reaching out to help others in your community is a great way to connect.
• Now that spring is here, take advantage of all Minnesota has to offer. Walk the trails in one of our many state parks.  Bike around the lakes or down one of the bike trails available to us.  Visit a garden. Get outside and soak up some vitamin D!

MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH MONTH; TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL PANDA HAS TO OFFER

PANDA’s Mental Wellness tip sheet provides 10 methods to stay mentally well and is available on our website.  You can find the link to the tip sheet on our homepage pandamn.org.  Our Mental Health tip sheet is available in 10 different languages:  English, French, Hmong, Karen, Oromo, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.  Check it out and print them for yourself and your students!