How To Compensate For The Lack of Face-To-Face Contact
Hint: your own face counts, too
Every next day in lockdown, I realize yet another aspect of reality that’s gone. One of them is the face-to-face contact with other people.
Studies found that eye-contact is critical for our emotional development. It also increases emotional awareness. That’s because the faces we look into reflect our feelings back on us.
The human brain is wired to read emotions from facial expressions. We may be better at this than trying to recognize what we feel by “looking inwards.”
But what are you to do when so much of human interaction is simply not safe — and, in many cases, banned? How can you feed your innate need for face-to-face contact?
Well, here’s the trick: you still have your own eyes and face at your disposal. If you also have a mirror — then you’re set. You can look into your own eyes and meet this “other human” there.
And the fact that it’s you on both sides of the mirror? It doesn’t seem to make that much of a difference.
Becoming Your Own Best Friend
Many of us go about our days without any real awareness of how we’re feeling. I know I often lack it — unless I make an intentional move to awaken it.
