What I've learned from ants

A therapist once told me that ants have two stomachs, a “true stomach” and a “social stomach.” When an ant finds food, it takes the food into its social stomach and stores it there. Upon returning to the colony, the ant will regurgitate the food to feed the other ants. This is called trophallaxis and it benefits the colony, by strengthening bonds, reinforcing nest-mate recognition, and feeding larvae and queen. Scientists say this behavior contributes to the resilience and wellbeing of the colony.

An ant will not feed from its own social stomach, even if it is starving.

If an ant is alone and hungry—and its social stomach is full—it will not eat from it. Instead, it will wander and run about erratically, frantically, and aimlessly. It will repeat movements ad nauseum until it eventually dies. Scientists call this the "death spiral," "circle of death," or "desert ant syndrome."

I still wonder what that therapist was trying to tell me.

Was I like a lone ant who couldn’t give myself what I needed emotionally? Did I lose my sense of direction when I was isolated? Did I become stressed and busy, running around searching for a mate or family?

Ants have been on earth for tens of millions of years longer than humans. Perhaps, their evolutionary success was due to their organized social structure and interdependent division of labor within colonies.

Perhaps we are better together than alone. Perhaps, we need each other.

Perhaps we should be looking at ants for answers to our societal problems.