UnLtd Blogs - community

The Biology of Emotional Healing

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:06:28 +0000

I've previously written that moods and emotions are contagious. There is an interesting piece on this notion in the New York Times, Friends for Life: An Emerging Biology of Emotional Healing. (If the NYT bugs you for a log in, then follow the instructions at Bug Me Not.)Research on the link between relationships and physical health has established that people with rich personal networks � who are married, have close family and friends, are active in social and religious groups � recover more quickly from disease and live longer. But now the emerging field of social neuroscience, the study of how people�s brains entrain as they interact, adds a missing piece to that data.It's a light, readable discussion that mentions mirror neurons as an explanation for emotional contagion, which expresses "the tendency of one person to catch the feelings of another, particularly if strongly expressed".

There's also a discussion of Cacioppo's work. He makes that interesting argument that the

emotional status of our main relationships has a significant impact on our overall pattern of cardiovascular and neuroendocrine activity. This radically expands the scope of biology and neuroscience from focusing on a single body or brain to looking at the interplay between two at a time. In short, my hostility bumps up your blood pressure, your nurturing love lowers mine. Potentially, we are each other�s biological enemies or allies.

This is a fascinating way of understanding all of our relationships and particularly the very strong relationship between carers and those for whom they care.

Building Mozzo Bean-by-Bean

Sat, 09 Sep 2006 22:42:13 +0000

Firstly thank you to all at UnLtd for this opportunity to blog and supporting me with a Level 1 Award turning the Mozzo Art on the Cart Award from a dream to a reality!

The purpose of my blog is to give an honest and open account of my experiences as young social entrepreneur as I work to build Mozzo bean-by-bean.

In 2004 just as I was about to graduate from University I was told by a lecturer that if I was serious about running my own business I would not be sitting in this room but would be out there doing it! Well since graduating that is what I have done after starting Mozzo in 2005.

I set out to build Mozzo on community values by following my beliefs that in today’s global society organisations should be focused upon their impact upon People, Sources and Environments. If these are at the core of what and why an organisation does what it does then success will come.

Loneliness: Damages Your Health And Well-being

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 07:49:47 +0000

If you are over 50, loneliness can add up to 30 points to your blood pressure. The relationship holds even after allowing for other negative emotive states, like sadness, stress or hostility. A 30 point difference is enough to recategorise someone from normal blood pressure to hypertension. (The study looked at the impact on systolic blood pressure, the top number in the BP reading.)

Friendship and social connections are important parts of happiness: they contribute to our resilience. Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam and a recent study by Lynn Smith-Lovin draw attention to the sharp contraction of inner circles until it only includes close family or a spouse. It seems that we are more protected from adverse events if we have several people with whom we can discuss important issues.

Loneliness has such a significant impact on hypertension in older people that it is estimated to be of a similar order of magnitude as the well-accepted risk factors, such as obesity or sedentary lifestyles. People can be socially active but still feel lonely. It seems that feelings of loneliness are a health risk. The lonelier somebody is, then the higher the blood pressure. Hypertension is known to have negative health consequences. Loneliness is probably a significant contributor to our Hearts and Minds Age.

When Will The Vacant Lot Be Developed?

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 14:04:51 +0000

When I saw the rubble with the provocative question, "What happens when edifices of network TV are rubble and the vacant lot has yet to be developed?" I wondered if the same is true of lots of social conventions, like consumerism and hedonism. Both of them are valuable and have their strengths - but they do seem to be crumbling in their anecdotal strength with reports of a decline in shopping and doubts about the health impacts of binge drinking.

A number of social commentators lament the impact of marriage or relationship breakdown, particularly where children are involved. It seems as if we have crumbling edifices but lots of vacant lots waiting to be developed because we don't know what should take their place. What do we want? What do people need? Are these the same question?

I've been thinking about this because it's Carers' Week and although I've had a good response to the workshops that I've run, I've met a lot of carers who are angry about what has happened to their lives and the lack of support they receive. Some of the carers I met say that they feel like anachronisms. They are abiding by their understanding of family responsibility and loyalty and almost literally being beggared for it while being treated with what feels like contempt by many of the statutory agencies. SOme of them feel that they have traded in their desire for security and a fulfilling career for present discomfort, financial insecurity and worry about their own futures. Yet, what would happen to our social and healthcare systems if carers disowned their sense of obligation and responsibility (a question that I've asked before when wondering what is the cost of doing nothing?)?

BBC 2' s Happiness Formula

Wed, 03 May 2006 07:40:10 +0000

Following on from the success of Making Slough Happy the BBC is offering another series about happiness: The Happiness Formula starts tonight on BBC2 at 7 pm.

The programme looks at the power, politics and science of happiness. It explores the finding that although people are three times richer than they were in the fifties, by some measures, most people are more miserable.

In a series of questions that are familiar, The Happiness Formula asks if government should continue trying to make us as rich as possible, or whether they should be trying to make people happier.

There are six programmes so I am hoping for a better than usual discussion of the subject. I shall be very annoyed if there are extrapolations from data relating to depression or the number of prescriptions for anti-depressants. Subjective well-being as a measure of happiness is all well and good but I feel that Raj Persaud among others has made some very cogent arguments against its scientific robustness.

Why Happiness Can Be Politically Dangerous

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 11:12:10 +0000

I recently wondered why some people can resent the happiness of others. Today, I've just come across an article that discusses the ideological dangers of public policies to promote happiness.

Happiness is dangerous territory... The science cuts across ideology. Progressive politicians enthusiastically embrace findings which suggest that the redistribution of wealth is good for our well-being...[T]raditionalists prefer the scientific papers showing that marriage (rather than cohabitation) has a hugely positive effect on happiness; and that God and the Boy Scouts add to the sum of human contentment while entertainment TV and multiculturalism tend to reduce it.

There is some uneasiness over the scientific support for happiness where it contradicts social politics or attitudes.

The chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips, does not shy away from the scientific evidence. "We've done work here which shows that people, frankly, when there aren't other pressures, like to live within a comfort zone which is defined by racial sameness," he told me. "People feel happier if they're with people who are like themselves. But the question is: what does 'like themselves' mean?"

Public policies to promote happiness can be fraught with ideological problems. What does this say about individual strategies to promote personal happiness? Maybe that even when you know the benefits of being on the other side and the distance is within range, the jump itself is still a leap of faith?

More on Making Harlow Happy

Sun, 22 Jan 2006 17:50:22 +0000

Back in early and mid-December I wrote to my local papers to ask the question “What would make Harlow happy?”. The letter didn’t appear. Nonetheless, I wrote to them again last week after some widely reported anti-social activity that led to the damage of more than fifty vehicles and was the subject of a lot of depressing editorial. The following letter was printed in my local papers this week.

Before and after the New Year, our newspapers seem to have been dominated by reports of vandalism, violence and anti-social activities in Harlow. All to a backdrop of continual squabbling of local politicians. I’ve even read that Harlow has been labelled as Grief City. Only two weeks in, is it already time to give up hope and just batten down the hatches?

The people who live, study and work here have talent, imagination and resolve. So do many of our officials. Every week, tucked away on the inside pages, are stories of innovation, community spirit and individual achievement. Unfortunately, somewhere in the daily grind of living in this town, it all seems to leak away.

Of course, many of the issues we face are complex. Some will take years to work out and others may never be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. One issue is make-or-break and needs immediate attention. It concerns hope in our future.

People get involved in their neighbourhoods and work their fingers to the bone to maintain their families, homes and lives: but they find it harder when they believe that their community has failed them. We need to believe that our community is willing to protect and support our efforts. Citizens of all ages, businesses and social enterprises all need to believe that there is a commitment before they continue to spend their resources and stake their futures in Harlow.

Hold An Idea Garage Sale

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:51:27 +0000

I’ve been entertained by reading about Matt Holman’s Idea Garage Sale and his brave effort to clear out his link closet. I have notebooks crammed with ideas and observations and my ‘favourites’ list needs a JCB to drag it open. As much as I’d like to think that I’m hoarding something that will be recognised as a modern classic and make a fortune at auction, I’m apprehensive that in the light of day most of my ideas would struggle to justify their presence in the 5p miscellaneous box. There is a reason that some ideas and day-dreams have remained undisturbed in those notebooks for so long. I think that the phrase I am looking for is some combination of cognitive darwinism and utopian delusion.

I’m still thinking about Making Harlow Happy. If I can persuade any of the local papers to publish my letter inviting ideas as to what would contribute to the overall level of happiness in Harlow, then perhaps I could suggest that correspondents contribute items for an Idea Garage Sale. I realise that corresponding with newspapers lacks the immediacy and entertainment value on offer in places like Shoreditch, where you can watch your community gather on street corners, all from the privacy of your own sofa. John Lettice suggests that a useful additional feature would be pressing the red-button to award ASBOs. I wonder if community harmony and involvement might be fostered if viewers could award brownie points and pats on the back to people seen to help others across the road, or pick up and return an assortment of dropped valuables.

Making Harlow Happy

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:31:00 +0000

I live in Harlow. Recently there has been a lot of correspondence in the local papers about our image and the quality of life here. Harlow has even been labelled Grief City in response to some strikingly violent incidents and anti-social activities that look to be out of control in some areas.

Can Harlow be saved? In the absence of the sort of elaborate conspiracy theories discussed by Frank Furedi there is no conscious plan to let the town rot so that we accept an anonymous future as part of the sprawl of London. It looks like our present condition owes more to the existence of the sort of wicked problems that affect much of the UK, causing honest paralysis over difficult questions. Wicked problems arose in the area of public policy and are described as "a set of problems that cannot be resolved with traditional analytical approaches".

However, it looks like some of the recent correspondents believe that the moment has come for one of the flagship post-war New Towns to give up its identity and hope.

Is there any reason for this not to happen?

It is the nature of wicked problems that unanswered questions and chronic issues can take years to work out or never be satisfactorily resolved. One is make-or-break and needs to be dealt with immediately. It concerns hope in our future. People get involved in their neighbourhoods and work their fingers to the bone to maintain their families, homes and lives, but they find it harder when they believe that their community has failed them. We need to believe that our community is willing to protect and support our efforts. Citizens of all ages, businesses and social enterprises all need to believe that there is a commitment before they continue to spend their resources and stake their futures in Harlow.