#12: A Change Of Course

“How can we create. and facilitate human connection in order to improve mental health and wellbeing?”

I no longer feel that my research question is able to drive my project forward. It is too general. I feel like I’ve pretty much answered it in my first intervention. These are the answers I have found:

• Work one on one – A group dynamic is not easily conducive to a genuine display of intimacy.
• Create a safe space to be in – A private place but one that is not enclosed.
• Have an activity to occupy your hands – One on one conversations looking directly at each other are too intimidating and the mind moves more freely when the body is engaged, especially in a creative craft.
• Share vulnerability – This creates an atmosphere of trust and invites others to share their own vulnerability.
• Empathise – The act of relating to another’s feelings, hearing them and validating them creates a feeling of connection, it is a small act of love.
• Show gratitude – Humble thanks is an invitation that can deepen the bond of feeling between two people.

These parameters alone may engender a connection between two relative strangers that can provide a positive feeling in the moment, but the longer term improvement in one’s wellbeing appears to accumulate over time.

This is useful to know but I feel I need to set a more specific and ambitious goal for my project.