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by Christina Reese (Author)
As our society becomes more detached and disconnected, as independence and self sufficiency have been emphasized as life goals, this has not resulted in safer, more stable, healthier communities. In fact, mental health concerns, violence and broken relationships abound. As we become disconnected our relationships are characterized by dysfunction and when we experience distress in life we can then develop disorders, the most common are anxiety and depression. We are all seeking independence and to not need anyone else, however, no person can be completely independent and in seeking this unattainable goal we are losing our ability to be attuned to each other-to see the needs of others and to meet those needs. Attunement is a building block to trust. And trust is a building block to attachment. Without attunement we can not trust and we will not have attachment-based relationships. Technology has had a large role in the disconnection that is happening in our society today. We hear that we are more connected today than ever before, but this is advertising and the reality is that we have traded deep, meaningful and fulfilling relationships for hundreds of superficial connections. This has a direct impact on our mental health, as healthy attachment is the foundation of good mental health. Dr. Christina Reese leads us through a brief American history to explain how our society has arrived at this place, identifying the shifts that have occurred over the last 100 years to cause the disconnection that we are now experiencing. She shares how this has impacted society, our relationships, our mental health and our children. She then explains the importance and role of attachment, that in moving from dependence to independence we missed the balance in the middle of interdependence. Dr. Reese then shares recommendations for repairing and improving society, our relationships, our mental health and healing our children who have been impacted by these dysfunctional relationship patterns.
