Social Animals Need Company

What do elephants, ants, dogs and people have in common? Turns out, we all share a deeply rooted need to be social with others. A recent study on Asian elephants shows that elephants get bummed out and their stress levels go up when they don’t have enough friends around. This just adds to a significant body of work going back decades on other animal populations like monkeys, rabbits, and parrots that shows how uncomfortable it is for social animals to be isolated. Ants? They get so miserable being by themselves that they live 1/10 of a normal life span, even when provided all the food and water they need.

All domestic animals need companionship. It is as much a core requirement as food and water. – Dr. Temple Grandin

But what does this help explain about us humans? Well, we’re truly social animals. Beginning some 300 million years ago, the human species has been living together in groups – hunting, gathering, and chilling in caves. Not just because we like one another, but because closely and collaboratively working together has been imperative for our survival. You wouldn’t make it very long as solo gig worker trying to run down a lion by yourself.

To help keep us from wandering off by ourselves into the jungle, over millions of years of evolution we developed a physiological response to separation from others — – just like our pachyderm and canine animal relatives. That response to social isolation is stress, anxiety and depression. In fact, the brain’s response to a lack of social connection is almost identical to how it reacts to physical pain. Our bodies literally try to tell us, ‘hey, dude, you need to get back and hang with the Oog and Goog at the cave or you’re gonna get chomped by a bear.”

It took us many millennia to evolve those stress skills. So, it stands to reason that it is still how our bodies react when we’re not getting enough social connection with others. Feeling blue? Want to be happier? Call a friend, have a conversation with a stranger, write a letter to a relative – all of these tactics of a social wellness practice help make us feel connected and to put those natural stressors at bay.

Or go to the zoo and say hi to an elephant. They might just need a new buddy.