Words offer us 3 vital health benefits. As the key to our humanity, words are an important part of the connection and care we share with others. Yet many people take the blessing of words for granted, unless dementia, stroke, or other impairment takes them away.
WORDS MAKE US HUMAN
From early on, an important result of human connection is learning our “mother tongue” language. You probably don’t remember learning to understand and speak words. But if you are reading this, I guarantee you, some caregiver worked very hard in your early years to give you the gift of words. For many people, that gift was first given by a mother.
Years ago, an experience at school led me to appreciate the unique power of words. One day when I was about 12, we all gathered in the assembly room to watch “The Wild Child,” a 1970 French movie with subtitles by director François Truffaut. Based on true events at the end of the 18th century, this movie tells the story of a boy who spends the first twelve years of his life living in the woods with little or no human contact. In addition to language difficulties, the boy had difficulties in expressing emotions and feeling empathy for others. He died at age 40.
3 HEALTH BENEFITS OF WORDS
This critically-acclaimed movie provides a poignant context for three crucial insights about words:
- Strengthen social bonds. Throughout life, words connect us to others and affect our health. As the Wild Child reveals, the torch that lights up language in the brain must first be passed on by others. Words enable us to build healthy relationships—the key to flourishing gut bacteria, good health, and functional longevity.
- Manage emotions. Rationality, which is rooted in emotions, depends on words. Damage to the emotional centers of the brain damage rational thinking. Emotions that are turned into words can be examined rationally, allowing us to manage brain chemistry to live better longer.
- Exercise the brain. Speech is crucial to our brain health, particularly the frontal lobe. Speech uses more muscles than any other human movement, and is easily diminished by a stroke or injury. Language usage provides an early warning system for several brain disorders, including autism and Alzheimer’s disease.
SHARE HEALING WORDS
Over the past year, workers in many industries have risked their lives to offer connection and care in serving others. . Medical workers have faced extreme demands in connecting and caring for COVID patients who cannot receive visitors. Staff at senior living communities have become a social lifeline to homebound residents separated from friends and family. Employees in food-related services have been a lifeline to those sheltering in place with high-risk health conditions.
These heroes aren’t always women, but the pandemic’s social burden has fallen on women who often sacrifice income to meet the needs of others at home.
Everyone can use the healing magic of kind words, especially these days. The best “thank you” we can give to our mother or other caregiver from long ago is to share the health benefits of kind, healing words with those who need really it. Words like:
You are wonderful. You are a blessing. You make me proud. You cheer me up. You make my day. You are my hero. You have saved my life. Thank you. God bless you.