Seven degrees of Separation

I was lucky enough to go away this bank holiday (and yes I have got close to the deadline in terms of writing this newsletter!).
Got to Chippenham station a bit overloaded with bags and was desperate for coffee. Coffee at the station is good so ordered my flat white. Lady behind the counter was (possibly) not having a good day, no eye contact, no smile or conversation…..
Then, attempting to negotiate the stairs with bags, coffee and small suitcase (in my defence I was bringing stuff for my brother……yes really!) Met with another traveller who kindly carried my bag to the platform. She was off to the GWH for some tests, really hope they went well for her.

Drank coffee felt revived!

Sitting on the Bath to Southhampton train was an older couple who were joined by a younger couple with a baby girl. Baby was very cute and engaging, conversation started to flow; turned out that older lady and young Dad both came from Whitby. Not only that, but they were known to each other, he was a friend of her brother and she remembered him from childhood. Then they got to how they all ended up in the West country; older lady was going to take a job in Bridlington but realised there was life beyond the N.E. Coast and headed south. I used to spend my childhood holidays in Bridlington as my grandparents lived there. For me it triggered a lot of happy memories of holidays when I was small. Young couple were going to the IOW which was also my destination. 
On the ferry I was talking to the lady in the next seat, she was off to Osborne House alone, because she knew her husband wouldn’t be interested and she wanted to enjoy herself. He was spending time with their son. Conversation continued; she had another son who had trained as a physiotherapist. He’d got fed up with it as he spent so much time on phone consultations (should have picked Osteopathy :-)).
The journey was so pleasant, just ships that pass in the night, but amazing how connected we really are. 

People are so interesting.

Later in a cafe in Cowes an older lady came in and I noticed the staff made a fuss of her, I spoke to her in passing and offered her our table, she told me she comes in six days a week and always sits where she was at the time. Her regular routine and connection to the staff probably did a lot for her wellbeing. 

As Osteopaths we consider the bio/psycho/social framework that clients find themselves in. The bio is obvious what is happening to the body; the psycho is inextricably linked; listening to not only the words but the tune of the conversation. Happy/sad? Excited/flat? Monosyllabic/garrulous? What isn’t being said? 
Then the social; there is one person I see who has difficult neighbours, when they kick off my clients pain levels go up. Social isolation can lead to depression and that can lead to increasing pain and ill health. Isolation can also lead to a whole host of spiralling thoughts and worries about yourself and loneliness is an increasing societal issue. 
Have you ever made a comment to someone over a counter to me met with a blank stare? It feels like a slap. The lady at the coffee bar would have had a much happier day had she had cracked a smile, or made a comment, smiling produces endorphins and most people are responsive. 

So next time you find yourself out and about try a few comments or conversations with a stranger, I think you may be surprised at the positive impact it has on you and probably the other person and how connected we really are. You never know you may find a long lost relative!