CONNECTION IS MEDICINE

For 85 years Harvard researchers tracked the lives of hundreds of people – across wars, marriages, breakdowns, recoveries.

What they found was simple.
At 50, the strongest predictor of your health at 80 isn’t diet.
Not wealth. Not your IQ.
Not even genetics.

It’s your relationships.

Dr. Robert Waldinger who leads the study now said:
“Loneliness kills. It’s as strong as smoking or alcoholism”

That is not a metaphor. It’s data.

So the question becomes – what counts as connection?

If you can go out: do.
Sit in a cafe – even if you don’t speak to anyone.
Go to the same place at the same time.
Let people start to recognize your face.

Volunteer somewhere low-pressure.
Help someone. Serve coffee.
Just be where people are.
Even if it’s awkward. Even if you leave early.
That still counts.

If you can’t leave – don’t disappear.
Message someone. Make a video like I do.
Text good morning to someone you care about.
Even if it feels small, or stupid.
I’ve text “ Good Morning” daily for years. It lands.

“social connections protect against physical decline, mental illness (like dementia and depression), and premature death
– comparable in impact to quitting smoking”

“relationships help regulate stress – reducing chronic inflammation and stress hormones – which supports long-term health”

Online, offline – what matters is contact.
Small moments, often.

In the end, it’s not about fixing yourself alone.
It’s about not being alone in the first place.