Do You Know Your Neighbors?
Are we too consumed in our own little world to take 5 minutes to say hello, help out someone, go for a walk, welcome a new person to the community, or just visit with a neighbor?
The other day, I heard on the radio that 1/3 of the American population does not speak to their neighbors. They could have lived there 10 years and do not even know who lives next door or across the street. That was an unusually high number, I thought. Maybe the statistics are exaggerated. So, I did a little research. In a study, State Farm found that only 25% of Americans know their next-door neighbor. That is less than 1/3, but still, 1/4 of Americans is way too high for me.
We, as a society, have forgotten how important face-to-face interaction is. As a human species, we need relationships to flourish in society, and if we do not have them, we become reclusive.
Technology is excellent, but it should not replace good old-fashioned relationships. We need friends, and I am not talking about how many friends we have on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
This kind of technology is feeding into the massive numbers of people who have depression, anxiety, and social and mental disorders. Just look up the list of mental disorders, and you will see well over 100 disorders. I have gone through depression and anxiety. I know how it feels to go through that. It is a struggle every day. Every little thing you do is a struggle. I never want to feel like that again.
According to The National Institute of Mental Health, 18% of the American population suffers from some anxiety disorder. That is just anxiety disorder, which does not include the 100-plus other mental disorders. Those are just the ones we know about. Imagine all the others that we cannot account for. I think it could easily be close to 50% of the population that suffers from some mental disorder.
This could be the reason we don’t know our neighbors. Get to know your neighbors. Those relationships could make your day or your neighbor’s day.
Love, Happiness, Peace, and Harmony to you all!