Building meaningful connections is at the heart of what we do here at Quiet Connections. It’s about more than casual interactions; it’s about fostering spaces where everyone feels safe to be their authentic selves. Here, we explore the concept of psychological safety in our relationships – with partners, friends, and all those we cherish. What…
In our ever-evolving understanding of emotions and their impacts on our lives, Barbara Fredrickson’s book “Love 2.0: Finding Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection” offers a refreshing perspective on love. Fredrickson, a leading researcher in the field of positive psychology, redefines love not as a stable, everlasting bond, but as a series of micro-moments…
The problem of loneliness in the UK appears to be compounded for introverted personalities with research suggesting that introversion is found to be significantly associated with loneliness (Buecker et al., 2020). While many people feel they have few close friends in the UK, with 12% reporting that they have only one, the number of close…
Chronic loneliness rose by over half a million people to 7.1% between 2020-2023 in the United Kingdom (UK) (McClelland, 2023) with almost half of all adults reporting feeling lonely occasionally, sometimes, often or always (Campaign to End Loneliness, 2023). Our social landscape has radically changed at a fast pace, reducing conditions for social connectedness despite…
Have you felt like you don’t matter? I wonder how many of do. I, for one, spent years feeling this way. Like it doesn’t matter if I’m at that event, with those people, or if I even exist. Who will notice? Who will be affected? Reduced feelings of ‘mattering’ have been found to contribute to loneliness…
I’m a quiet person. Usually. I get quieter in groups. More so when people are new to me. And because of this, I’ve been misunderstood a lot in my life. I’ve been assumed to be rude, disinterested, stuck up, bitchy, and to dislike people, amongst other things. But that’s not me at all. I’ve always…
Are those of us experiencing social anxiety happier alone? It would be easy to assume that someone experiencing social anxiety is happier alone than with other people. After all, feeling socially anxious means fearing social situations and, to avoid potential rejection, criticism and ridicule, we tend to avoid social interactions. This belief can fuel our…
You know how it is when you get talking to someone and that quiet excitement bubbles up inside because they feel so aligned with where you are and it’s almost like the universe has sent them your way? Well, I was lucky enough to have one of those awesome connections yesterday. It’s funny to think…
Is it surprising to find out how, when we’re feeling lonely, we can create a self-fulfilling prophesy for ourselves if we’re not careful? In our last post, we explored how our unconscious attempts at self-protecting can lead us deep into disconnection: Read: “Why isn’t it easy to reach out and connect when we’re feeling lonely?”…
You rarely hear anyone talking about feeling lonely, do you? It’s another one of those taboo topics, despite the fact that we all feel lonely at times. There’s a stigma attached to loneliness and it’s almost like we believe if we feel lonely then there’s something wrong with us. Or maybe we’re worried that we’re…