I have noticed more intimate self-disclosures in ordinary chats, said Dan McAdams, a professor of psychology and human development at Northwestern University. People are opening up to each other about the most personal things. In this time of uncertainty, psychologists and counselors urge us to spend quiet time with family and friends. The simple act of hugging children and other loved ones has a healing power. Talking and listening represent another uplifting strategy not to be underestimated.
Words are less important than involvement.
We all know when we are not really listening to a partner or friend. Now is not the time for multitasking, or thinking about what you plan to say next rather than hearing what a person is saying. Don t interrupt, listen. Let everybody speak and have a voice. It s not as much about the words we exchange as the healing potential of connecting, said Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, an associate professor at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine and a pioneer in this country s mind-body medicine movement.