#89 Why Connection Is The Most Important Aspect Of Health: Best Of 2019

<p>Over the past 2 years, I have had the privilege of talking with some of the most influential and insightful voices in the health and wellbeing space. To celebrate, I have decided to release 3 very special compilation episodes at the end of the year, which also happens to be the end of the decade! In my new book, <a href="https://amzn.to/2G0XK7l" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Feel Better in 5</a>, I split up health into 3 main areas: Mind, Body and Heart. The 'Heart' section is all about nurturing your essential human connections. This is such a crucial, but undervalued, component of health. People who are lonely are 50% more likely to die earlier and 30% more likely to suffer from a heart attack or stroke. The feeling of social isolation is through to be as harmful for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day.</p><p><br></p><p>In today’s show, I share some of the best clips from my podcast about the importance and power of meaningful human connection. You will hear from Dhru Purohit on why we need deep meaningful friendships to thrive, and not just survive, the hypnotherapist, Chloe Brotheridge, on why being kind to yourself is so important and why life feels perfect once we accept the way that things are, the outspoken Nagoski Sisters, who discuss how to complete the stress response cycle, no matter what the stressor is in your life is and why a 20 second hug can be so beneficial. You will then hear from Peter Crone - without question, my conversation with Peter has proven to be one of the most popular and impactful episodes I have ever released on my show - I share a clip where Peter talks about how you cannot create the life of someone else you don’t believe yourself to be and how true happiness is the absence of the search for happiness. We then hear from the physician, Gabor Mate, who talks about social isolation and how addiction is a behaviour that we use to soothe our pain, and then finish off with the wonderful Johann Hari on the primal importance of human connection and why he defines