​​​​Does Social Interaction Help Depression?

If a sadistic person wants to torture someone else and make him depressed, he might put his victim in solitary confinement and deprive him of social contact.

After all, even if he doesn’t understand the scientific theories about why this hurts people, he appreciates that people naturally tend to feel down and depressed when they are deprived of social interactions with other people.

Fortunately, the inverse is also true. When people enjoy connecting with others, they tend to feel better and happier.

So learn from this: since a lack of social interaction can naturally make you feel down and depressed, and since enjoying connecting with others helps you feel better and happier, be sure to enjoy a social interaction every day to become and remain depression-free.

It doesn’t have to be a big social interaction. It can be something as simple as a quick 5 minute call to a friend, or simply saying hello to the person taking your money at the grocery store.

The point is to just have some form of social interaction that you enjoy every day, where you enjoy connecting with another human being.

Does depression cause social isolation?

A lack of social interaction and depression often go hand in hand.

If you’re keeping to yourself and not interacting with other people, you might think it’s because you’re depressed. However, it’s important to appreciate that isolating yourself from other people contributes to you being depressed.

So to get out of depression, make sure that you’re enjoying at least some form of social interaction every day, no matter how small or simple it might be.

How social interaction reduces depression

A social life is so important to most people that solitary confinement is often considered an extreme form of punishment, and even torture. Indeed, if you put someone in solitary confinement, you naturally stack the odds that they will become depressed.

If you think about it, connecting with other people is very important, because when you enjoy social interactions:

• It naturally makes your life more meaningful, worthwhile, and enjoyable
• You don’t feel alone, since you feel a sense of connection with someone else
• You naturally focus on something other than you and your problems (so you get “out of your head” in a great way)
• As a result of all this, you naturally feel happier and better

Have you ever felt sad, depressed, or in a bad mood, and then immediately felt a lot better, just by connecting for a few minutes with a friend?

If so, you’ve already proven to yourself how powerful and beneficial social interactions can be for you. Indeed, even something as simple as a brief phone call can make a big, positive difference in how you feel.

So take advantage of this, and make enjoyable social interactions a daily part of your life to become and remain depression-free faster and easier.

Next: Is Sleep Good For Depression? →

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Section 5 Lessons:

1. How to get rid of negative thoughts and depression
2. How to stop ruminating & dwelling on negative thoughts
3. Can omega 3 help with depression?
4. How does sunlight affect depression?
5. Can exercise help depression?
6. Does social interaction help depression?
7. Is sleep good for depression?

Next Section In The Depression-Free Course:

Section 6