“Sue, I’m sorry. I don’t know how to tell you this, but you have Cancer… maybe 18-months to live”
Once the news hit, Sue signed early retirement papers and sold the house.
She moved to Florida to be closer to her kids and grand-babies…
She started mentoring inner city kids and helping them get into college… something she never had time for in the past.
Friends and family made it a point to spend more time with her… taking road trips and weekend getaways.
12-months later, she was back in the Doctor’s office…
“Sue – I can’t explain it, but you’re in complete remission”
Is it that far-fetched?
We’ve all heard stories that go something like this… could spending more time with friends and family help reverse chronic illness?
Is there any science to it?
Why locking yourself in the house could make you worse
Typically, when animals are critically injured in the wild they’ll run to a safe, secluded place and lie down.
They give their body the resources to start healing and in some cases, they’ll lay there for days without moving. If the wound isn’t fatal, there’s usually a point when they know they need to get up and re-integrate with the herd….
But what’s fascinating is: once the injured animals get back with the herd; their wound tends to heal FASTER than when they were in isolation.
A 2003 PNEC study on the Social Facilitation of Wound Healing, found that:
“Social interactions buffer against stress and promote wound healing… The data imply that social isolation impairs wound healing”
The background on this study is interesting so I had to geek out on it (read the full text here). Scientists wanted to test the impact of social interaction on wound healing. For this study, they used Siberian Hamster models separated into two test groups:
- The first group was completely isolated from social contact.
- The second group was paired up and able to freely interact.
- Each hamster received similar injuries and had their wounds measured to track the rate of healing (I know it sounds bad… it’s in the name of science right?).
Here’s the fascinating twist: both groups of hamsters were split into two more groups and placed under stress everyday (kind of like going to work)… so it looked like this: [click to continue…]
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