Hello, I'm therapist Xu Bing, your listener.
Chances are, you've already thought about this and made some observations. The fact that you've invested thought in this question probably means it's important to you and may be related to some important feelings in your life. I hope my response is helpful.
1. Connecting with people is something we're all born with. I see relationships as a way of connecting with others.
It's both biological and psychological. It's about survival and living well.
Relationships are the emotional bonds between people. For babies, relationships are like a psychological umbilical cord.
First, on a physical level, bonding is almost essential for survival. This involves some knowledge of biological evolution.
The lowest animals don't need relationships because they can survive on their own, even when they're born. For example, a fish has finished spawning and doesn't care whether its offspring will survive.
So many "fish eggs" are eaten before they can become fish, and each egg is alone and helpless. The bottom line is that the survival of lower animals depends on sheer numbers.
As creatures evolved, more advanced ones came along, and the young of these needed a period of parental care because the more advanced the creature, the later maturity came. So the "mammalian brain" evolved, which is responsible for emotional feelings.
The most important thing this brain is good for is connecting with other members of the same species. We all know that this is the bonding instinct that higher organisms are born with. A mother dog can take care of her children because of this instinct, and when a mother takes care of her young, the father will go out to find food.
This instinct for bonding connects not only families but also communities. Bonding with one's own kind is essential for the survival of the entire species.
Put simply, creatures without an emotional brain (pre-amphibian creatures) only care about whether they can survive. After evolving an emotional brain, however, creatures care about whether "we" can survive.
Humans are the most advanced creatures, so human children are the most physiologically mature when they are born. This means that they need the care of their parents for the longest time in the biological world. When a child is born, it cries, it has an embrace reflex, and it soon smiles. All of these are ways of connecting with people.
During World War II, some children who had lost their parents were sent to orphanages. These children had food, but they also had a high mortality rate and experienced delayed development. This was the first time that people began to study how children could survive and be healthy. It was only then that they discovered that although these children were well fed, they lacked hugs, touch, communication, and so on. These latter interactions are relationships.
So, babies don't just need food to survive. They also need to feel the presence of others in a relationship. The presence of others reflects my own existence. Humans are not just mechanical beings. We're spiritual beings too.
The human experience is more spiritual than having a human body.
From a psychological perspective, a child's mental growth is closely tied to their relationships. Positive and supportive relationships can foster a person's cognitive development, while negative relationships can hinder it. Regardless of the quality of a relationship, it's always preferable to have one at all.
There's a famous experiment where two monkey mothers were placed in a cage with a group of monkey cubs. One monkey mother was made of wire but had an endless supply of milk hanging from her chest. The other monkey mother was also made of wire but was wrapped in a thick, soft layer of fabric.
The experimenters noticed that the baby monkeys would only go to the "wire monkey mother" when they were hungry, but once they were full, they would stick around for the rest of the day. This experiment shows us that food alone isn't enough to keep monkeys happy, and that humans have more emotional and spiritual needs than monkeys because our minds are more developed.
Second, the state and characteristics of one party in the relationship affect the mental development of the child. Take the baby adopted by the wolf, for example. She had a relationship with the wolf and the wolf had an emotional brain that could understand basic feelings and emotions. Despite having human potential, the baby couldn't develop in the wolf's environment.
Of course, there have also been some studies that show that being isolated from other people for a long time can have a negative effect on both your physical health and your mental wellbeing.
This goes to show how important relationships are to us, and that we simply can't live without them.
2. It's important to remember that relationships are not only external, but also internal.
We're brought up in relationships, and these relationships become part of us over the years. Even when we're alone, we're still in a relationship. For example, memories of relationships with other people may come to the fore, and we may view a stranger through the lens of past relationship patterns and feelings.
There's a story about a young man who was looking for a village with many good people. He walked through many villages and was a little disappointed. One day,
He arrived at the entrance of another village and saw an elderly man there. He figured he'd ask the man if the people here were nice before deciding whether to enter the village.
So he asked the elder, "Do you think everyone in this village is good?"
The elder didn't give a direct answer, but instead asked the young man, "Are people good where you come from?"
The young man was a little confused, so he asked the old man, "What does it matter? The people here aren't the same as the people where I came from."
The old man said, "It makes a big difference. If you think the people where you come from are all good, the people here will also be good; if you think the people where you come from are not all good, the people here will also be like that; if you think the people where you come from are both good and bad, the people here will also be both good and bad."
It's a fact that we're all born into relationships. Babies and young children need to be connected to their parents. As long as we survive, we get the nutrients from relationships that allow us to survive. But at the same time, this umbilical cord also transfers less nutritious and even toxic factors to us.
This will leave a mark on your heart.
Over time, we may even come to hate relationships, sabotage them, or avoid them altogether. This feeling can stick with a person for a long time, even a lifetime.
It's true that our relationship experiences as children have a big impact on us. When we're young, we're passive and don't have the ability to make our own choices. But in adulthood, if we're willing, we can change our feelings about relationships and relationship patterns.
It does take a little time, though.
We can avoid external relationships, but not internal ones. When someone chooses to avoid relationships, it just shows that they have a relationship in their heart.
So, what should we do? If you're afraid of relationships,
We can decide to get into a relationship that's right for us, or we can take a step back to protect ourselves. Either way, we just need to take it slow.
We can actively look for good, constructive relationship experiences, such as with a professional counselor. This can help us heal from previous relationships, while also activating our spiritual self-healing function and gradually rediscovering the feeling of loving ourselves and those around us.
Psychological independence is something that's developed through different experiences in relationships. It's reflected in how maturely we connect with others.
Independence doesn't mean you don't need others or that you can't connect with others. You can choose to be anywhere along the relationship spectrum, from "very distant from others" to "very close to others." You can either be very distant from others and cut off the relationship, or you can be very close to others, as if fused together, or somewhere in between. No matter what the distance from others is, you can still be stable, self-accepting, and free of entanglements.
You can connect with others while still maintaining your own identity, without losing yourself to the influence of others, and without having to defend yourself too rigidly. The self has boundaries, but they can be flexible, permeable, and open to a certain extent. Allowing the inner self to be released and also absorbing the influence of the outside world into oneself is the process of moving towards spiritual independence.
Independence isn't isolation. It's having a complete self while connecting at the same time.
As for those who hide away in the mountains to practice year-round, they may seem to be going into the mountains outwardly, but inwardly they may be avoiding relationships. They may think that they can transcend the troubles of the world through solitary ascetic practices. It's not always clear whether they go into meditation and enlightenment nourished by the warmth and fullness of relationships within.
Sometimes practice is just practice, and sometimes it's defense. I respect practitioners and practices, but I don't want to generalize.


Comments
It's true that forming connections with others is a fundamental part of human nature, but I think survival doesn't solely rely on being liked by everyone. We seek relationships for emotional support and companionship, which are crucial for mental health, but it's not about everyone liking us. There are always people who thrive in solitude, finding inner peace and contentment without external validation or social interactions.
The idea that we need relationships to survive can be seen from a more nuanced perspective. While social bonds are important for many, the definition of necessary relationships varies from person to person. Some individuals find ways to meet their needs internally or through different means like pets, hobbies, or spiritual practices. Not everyone thrives in the same type of social environment.
Considering the vast differences in individual preferences and circumstances, some people indeed choose a solitary lifestyle and manage to live fulfilling lives. It shows that while relationships can enrich our lives, they might not be the only way to achieve wellbeing. People adapt in various ways to ensure their survival and happiness, whether that involves extensive social networks or a quiet life alone.