PHOTOGRAPHY
Mathilde Langevin
L O C AT I O N
Montreal, Canada
MODELS
Gabrielle Lavoie
Why Loneliness Can Hurt as Bad as Being Punched in the Face AUTHOR: ED CUNNINGHAM
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f there was one thing above all else that has been instrumental to the evolution of humankind, it would be connection. Thousands of years ago, without it, you’d have had no tribe - meaning you’d have been cast out to survive on your own, where your chances of doing so would be slim. Without connection to ourselves and our conscious mind, we’d never have learned from our mistakes. Just because these connections are not tangible or even visible, that doesn’t mean they are not two of the most important things in your life. As Neitzsche said “Invisible threads are the strongest ties.” The last year or so has shown that connection is just as important now as it has been throughout history. We may no longer be in danger of death if we’re cast aside by our tribe, but we are still in danger of diminishing our mental health in the absence of healthy relationships. The dangers are different, and maybe not as catastrophic, but a lack of
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connection still poses an enormous threat to our general health and wellbeing. This wasn’t always obvious to me. I used to have a habit of isolating myself whenever I felt depressed, feeling that it would be better not to show up at all than to show up and not be at my best. I thought it was better to battle it alone and save others the burden of dealing with my low-mood. I, of course, was wrong. I know now that I wasn’t alone in that habit. My generation, the ones who have the highest recorded mental health issues in history, are also being called the loneliest generation yet. There is a direct link between the two issues. We could blame the internet. The internet was supposed to connect the world, but it’s become clear that, paradoxically, it has done the opposite. We crave human interaction. When we don’t have that, our mental health deteriorates rapidly. As Johann Hari says in his brilliant book Lost Connections “The difference between being online and being physically among people, I saw in that
