Why You’re Starving for Connection—and How to Finally Feel Seen
Because Shallow Isn’t Safe. Deep Is.
Connection isn’t a luxury, it’s a survival need.
But most of us are starving for it.
Not attention.
Not likes.
Actual connection.
Soul-deep recognition.
The kind where you exhale and say, “You too?”
We’re more connected than before, and lonelier than ever.
But it’s not technology that’s failing us.
It’s how we’re taught to relate.
The Ache
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about disconnection.
How often we settle for polite, performative relationships instead of the real thing.
The kind where we only show the presentable parts.
Where we trade approval instead of truth.
Where we don't say the thing we're aching to say because we're afraid it might break the spell, or the bond.
I used to think love meant keeping the peace.
That if I said too much, needed too deeply, or revealed too rawly, I’d scare people away.
So I stayed curated. Useful. Even to the people closest to me.
The cost?
I was constantly in relationship, but rarely in real connection.
And that dissonance builds.
In your body.
In your bones.
In your marriage.
The Wake-Up
Years ago, I sat in a therapist's office with my ex-wife, trying to resuscitate what we’d lost.
I remember looking at her and realizing, yes, we were both in the room, but we hadn’t truly seen each other in years.
We had been managing life.
Checking boxes.
But we weren’t reaching for each other.
Not vulnerably.
Not honestly.
Not with presence. Not at all.
Connection is a muscle. If you don’t use it, it atrophies.
And when you finally try to flex it—after months or years of polite silence—it can feel clumsy and terrifying. But also, if you let it, transformative.
We didn’t save that marriage. But I started saving myself.
The Shift
I stopped trying to earn connection through usefulness.
I started practicing it through presence.
I stopped leading with what I thought people wanted to hear.
I started telling the truth, even with a shaky voice.
And the irony?
That’s when the real relationships began.
Not necessarily more of them. But better ones. Truer ones.
The kind where you don’t need a script to belong.
I’m not saying it’s easy. Because it’s easier to perform. And it’s safer to hide.
But here’s the problem:
What you build while hiding can’t hold you.
Only truth can do that.
The Practice
So what does real connection look like?
It’s not about saying everything. It’s about not pretending.
It’s asking someone how they are—and staying when they say “Not great.”
It’s letting your guard down, even when your history tells you not to.
It’s having the hard conversation, not because it’s comfortable, but because the relationship matters.
It’s choosing repair over resentment.
And yes—it’s terrifying at first.
But it gets easier. And it’s always worth it.
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Rewiring Your Relational Story
If you’ve been stuck in disconnection—or feel like your relationships lack depth—you’re not broken. You’re human.
But you don’t have to keep doing it the old way.
Start here:
Where in your life do you feel most unseen?
Who do you wish you could be more real with?
What truths have you been holding back?
Where are you settling for “nice” instead of “true”?
Now flip it:
What does real connection look like to you?
What kind of relationships do you want to build?
What kind of person do you want to be inside those relationships?
Write it. Say it. Practice it.
You don’t need to be perfect.
You just need to be present.
The Invitation
So here’s what I’ll ask you today:
Where do you want to be seen and known more completely?
And which parts of you need to emerge from hiding for that to be possible?
Reflect on it. Declare it. And if you’re looking to experience more real, more soulful connection in your life, please reach out. I’m here to walk with you.
DM me or book a free 1:1 session here. Let’s build the relationships you actually want.
Because you don’t need more friends. You need more truth. And that starts with you.
Andy, well said. Is the older we get the easier it is to live in that truth because we don't have a whole lot longer. We need to nurture those friendships we have and I am also learning at 81 to let go of a couple that no longer serve either of us. History doesn't seem to be enough. Thoughts?
So true and clearly stated! We need more meaningful connections to counter the drip feed of othering that is being projected at the moment.