Seen: Healing Despair and Anxiety Through Connection Sýnishorn

Connection Cures

There are two primary relationships that the human soul needs: Connection with our Heavenly Father and Connection with Others. We are wired for community. We are hard-wired with the need to be seen.

Being seen doesn’t mean just sight. To be truly seen means to be known, loved, and understood on a deeper level.

Each heart is like a well. So many thoughts, personality traits, passions, emotions, and beliefs make up the hearts of men and women. But now we live in a culture where connection is limited, at least according to our heart. An anxious heart in despair is too common nowadays. You may be feeling despair or anxiety yourself, or you may have a kid, teenager, or friend who is experiencing a heart overwhelmed by anxiety or despair. Maybe you feel an overwhelming amount of concern for your loved one, which can make you feel powerless. You want to help, but how?

The Bible talks about the heart of a person numerous times. But we intuitively know that the scriptures are not describing the organ that pumps blood, but rather the emotional side of us. Simply put, our brains are hard-wired by God with two sides and two functions. The right side of the brain is where a lot of our emotional processing takes place, the heart. The left side is where our logical processing takes place, the mind. When we experience despair or anxiety, our heart goes into overdrive, and logical processing decreases. Connection disrupts this process. Our brains are wired to respond to love and empathy.

When we feel seen by another person, our heart exhales and logical processing resumes.

Every person is hard-wired to need two primary connections to allow the heart to exhale: Connection with God and Connection with Others.