Craving Connectedness

One of the most basic emotional needs we all have is to feel connected. Connection is important on different levels.

We need to feel connected to the environment. By environment I mean nature and the outside world around us. Think of the ways we depend on water, air, energy!

We need to feel connected to people. Think of all the people that make your world go round: family, friends, grocery clerks, bank tellers, mail deliverers, servers, co-workers, the list goes on and on!

Most importantly we need to feel connected to a  significant other, whether it be a lover, a best friend a parent or a sibling.

The best way to feel healthy about your connections to other people is to take time to pause and reflect on your dependency to others and theirs to you. It is okay to be dependent on another person as long as you still have your independence. This is called “interdependence.”

Interdependence is mutual dependence between things, and it is important to be conscious of this to create and maintain healthy relationships. Learn more about establishing healthy relationships on the dating and relationships sections of this site.