How do we make a lack of prevention the crisis?

For six years The GenWell Project has been working to build a Human Connection Movement across Canada and one of the greatest challenges faced is the challenge of selling prevention. ?

The crux of the issue is finding funding to support the proactive education and activation of thirty-eight million Canadians around the importance of social connection for their health, happiness, longevity and for the betterment of the society in which we all live.

?At GenWell we call it Social Health. ?

It’s about understanding the importance of building healthy connection habits throughout the course of our lives, in all the places that we find ourselves;?in our homes, at work, in the classroom, the community and in the world, as one key components to an overall wellness plan, and recognizing the value that these relationships play, both deep meaningful, and those casual connections that make us feel part of this big old world.?

Over the last two years The GenWell Project, in partnership with our policy and research partner, the Institute for Social Connection, have conducted the Canadian Social Connection Survey to better understand what having or not having social ties in your life can do for our health, happiness, longevity and more. These results will provide us with real time insights that can be shared with Canadians from coast to coast, NFPs who support those who may need support to cope with the impact of loneliness, the medical system who see the illness and crisis that a disconnected world can bring, and government officials so they can better understand the growing size of the issue and recognize the importance of prevention in reducing the future impact on families, on businesses, on communities, the health care system and more. It will also provide us with the information that can lead to solutions, as individuals, business leaders, parents and teachers, community leaders, to build a more connected world.

?There has been lots of research over the last 30 years on the topic of social isolation, disconnection, and loneliness, but most of it has remained hidden. This information didn’t hit the radar of most Canadians because it wasn’t about a crisis. It wasn’t about saving lives today. It was about identifying that social connections or social health, can have an extremely positive impact on your health and well-being whether you are in crisis or you engage in social connection proactively. The only message that seemed to resonate over the last decade was that of Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, when she coined the phrase that chronic social isolation is the equivalent of smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. A powerful message focused on the crisis, which for a period of time, caught the attention of the media, but we moved on.

?How bad is social isolation, disconnection, and loneliness for your health? Here are just some of the impacts, and this doesn’t include the impact on the brains of our youth and their future academic and social success.?

In addition to the health implications, social isolation, disconnection, and loneliness can lead to many societal issues, from political polarization, racism, hate, violence, crime and so much more.?

Why do we not invest in prevention or in supporting our fellow human beings??

As a movement that is working to swim up stream and educate, empower, and catalyze greater human connection so we can reduce the negative health and societal implications of a lonely and disconnected world, how could raising funds to support the work be so difficult??

We know that our current healthcare system is struggling under the burden of our current approach and a recent article in the Globe and Mail (link) highlighted the two potential options to solve for what lies ahead. One includes major changes to the healthcare system, the billing processes and how people are treated. The other is prevention. One would likely take decades to be fully implemented, the other can start today. ?

We have never been educated on the importance of our social health for our wellbeing, like we have physical activity, eating well and smoking cessation, but the time to raise the awareness about this critical pillar in the lives of all Canadians is now. This education and empowerment will lead to people taking more proactive steps to maintain their social health as they become more conscious and aware of its negative impact on their health and on the health of those around them. ?

Social health, unlike mental and physical health, can’t be done alone. Practices such as mindfulness, gratitude, journaling, breathing, and others are very important for our mental health and tend to be done alone. Going for a walk, a bike ride, run or shooting hoops can be done for our physical health and can be done alone as well. These practices are great for self- determination and empowerment, but they don’t help solve for the social health of individuals. Social health takes two people and thus both the person reaching out and the person who is being reached out to play a role in solving for our disconnected and lonely world. ?

This is why we at The GenWell Project believe that the solution to this problem lies in raising the collective consciousness of the broader society, not in waiting until people are sick or in crisis before we react. ?

Whether through the social media posts we share, our website, our school, workplace and community presentations, the information we share on our website, our semi-annual GenWell Weekends, or the numerous podcasts and media interviews that we conduct to educate, empower and catalyze Canadians, it all leads to building a society that better understands the power of human connection as a critical pillar to our overall wellbeing. This effort requires funding to build the longer-term sustainable movement which engages and inspires Canadians to take action for their own health and wellbeing, as well as the health and wellbeing of the people they know or don’t know just yet. ?

Here are some numbers that demonstrate how a small investment in a proactive social health movement like The GenWell Project may be the best ROI that we as Canadians could ever make in ourselves, in our neighbours, in our friends and family, and in the society in which we all want to live.?

The Canadian health care system spends roughly 320 billion of your tax dollars on our collective healthcare each year. Within that budget, our rough estimates suggest that roughly 120 billion of that money is spent on illnesses related to social isolation, disconnection, and loneliness. What if we could reduce the illnesses caused by this growing issue by 1%? What if we could save 120 million? What if we could prevent your grandparent or parent from early onset dementia? What if we could reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes or prevent depression in you or your family? What if we could prevent your loved one from becoming addicted to opioids or taking their life by suicide. What if we could prevent one mass shooting? What, if for a few million dollars a year, we could make the world a happier and healthier place for many more and we could give the people you love a happier, healthier, and longer life.?

What if? ?

Yes, we can’t guarantee anything, but if you know the science and understand the benefits, you must agree that even a small investment would seem to make a lot of sense. If the response from those who have heard our message and made the effort to build healthier connection habits for themselves and those around them is any indication, this is a game-changer for Canadians. As a business leader, would you invest one million a year to save 120 million? How about two, or five? As a political leader, would you invest in prevention as a parallel priority over just crisis management? Would you as an individual donate a portion of whatever you give to other charities to a movement focused on preventing illness instead of crisis support? I believe the answer for most is yes.?

If you got to this point of the article, you are the perfect candidate to become part of the Human Connection Movement. Here is what you can do to be part of the movement. ?

1)???Share this article with your community and stress your support for a new, proactive approach to keeping people happier and healthier.

2)???Join the Human Connection Movement by signing up for our monthly newsletter at www.GenWellProject.org

3)???Follow The GenWell Project on our social platforms to get daily tips, tools, and ideas on how you or the people around you can start building healthier connection habits today.

4)???Are you a business leader looking to build a more connected workplace? Bring us in to educate, empower and catalyze your people and build a culture of human connection.

5)???Join us at the upcoming Canadian Human Connection Conference - https://humanconnectionconference.org/speakers/

6)???Make a financial commitment to the Human Connection Movement. You can make your tax-free donation here - https://genwellproject.org/donate/

?Thanks for your support and thank you for being part of building the more connected Canada that gives everyone an opportunity to thrive.