CHAT IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Many of us are spending a lot more time on Zoom, which is distracting as I’m always trying to hide my chins, but when was the last time you picked up the phone and had a proper chat?

The average length of a phone call was just 3 minutes 40 secs at the start of 2020, so to help combat this growing issue of isolation, mobile operator giffgaff has launched its Have a Proper Chat campaign, when members can pick up the phone for a free call between 6pm–7pm on Thursday, February 18.

But whoever your call provider is, we could all pick up the phone this Thursday, because according to relationship therapist Simone Bose, chatting with your favourite person will fill you with love and lower stress levels. Although she has clearly never chatted to my mum!

She says: “When we hear a loved one’s voice, the chemicals in our body react. It triggers the production of oxytocin. So for someone living on their own, simply hearing your voice can flood their brain with love. When we feel stressed, the hormone cortisol surges through our body and picking up the phone and having a chat can reduce this.

“We are social beings and we feel pain when we are being rejected or we are isolated. This shows us that it is a necessity and not a luxury to have social connections. Social connections have been essential to evolve and survive over the years and this is hardwired in us. If we don’t feel connected, we will lose our ability to thrive.”

Put it in your diary – Have a Proper Chat on Thursday between 6-7pm, although if that’s my mum, I’d better block out the entire evening!

THERAPIST Simone