By Kimberly Nelson, MA, with Becky Shipkosky
Have you ever felt alone in the world? Isolated? If you have, can you think back to the state of your mental health at that time? Now, try to think of a time when you had a strong support network—maybe a job with the very best co-workers, your crew of friends in high school or college, or an especially cohesive group of roommates. Research indicates that these times in our lives are likely to be characterized by relatively good mental health (Park et al., 2023).
Why is a strong sense of community correlated with better mental health? For some—the more extroverted among us—this may seem perfectly natural. But introverts might find this counterintuitive. In fact, being in community offers benefits beyond the basic extrovert-recharge effect, including:
What Is Mental Health Recovery?
The recovery model is a newer paradigm in mental health care that emphasizes a person’s strengths, personal wisdom, and autonomy. It seeks to support individuals in living fulfilling lives with all the parts of themselves fully integrated, including their lived experience of mental illness. To learn more, see our post that fully defines the mental health recovery model.
Within the recovery model, community is one of the four dimensions that underpin a fulfilling life (SAMHSA, 2024). Cooperriis’ Chief Program Officer, Dr. Lisa Schactman, emphasizes the role of community in the self-integration process: “Part of the recovery experience is reconnection. Some of the reconnection is to yourself…and some of the connection is to our loved ones and people in our community.”
At the end of the day, for better or worse, so much of who we are is in context of community. Like nearly everything else in our lives, “a recovery process is something that’s done in relationship, in community,” Schactman points out.
Seeking out community may be new to some people. In our busy lives, we may only engage with the people and places we must. Stop by the coffee shop in the morning, say hello and goodbye to the barista. Go to work and talk shop with coworkers. Not all community provides the benefits we’ve talked about. Work may not be a bountiful hub of deep connection, after all. So, how do you even begin to intentionally build community for yourself?
What types of spaces, events, and activities can we intentionally seek out to create a healthful and supportive environment that nurtures our mental health? Here are a few suggestions to start with:
You don’t have to choose just one opportunity. It’s a great idea to try a few or several totally different things to see what feels best to you. And once you settle on something, try to establish a schedule with it. Your regular involvement is what will help you form and strengthen relationships. These relationships can lead to friendships that are based on common interests, and the more you you are, the higher quality those relationships can be.
References
Park, E. Y., Oliver, T. R., Peppard, P. E., & Malecki, K. C. (2023). Sense of community and Mental Health: A cross-sectional analysis from a household survey in Wisconsin. Family Medicine and Community Health, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1136/fmch-2022-001971
Recovery and recovery support. SAMHSA. (2024, March 26). https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/recovery
Shipkosky, B., & Schactman, L. (2024, March 22). Recovery Model of Mental Health. personal.
How to Improve Your Mental Health Through Community
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24.05.2024
By Kimberly Nelson, MA, with Becky Shipkosky
Have you ever felt alone in the world? Isolated? If you have, can you think back to the state of your mental health at that time? Now, try to think of a time when you had a strong support network—maybe a job with the very best co-workers, your crew of friends in high school or college, or an especially cohesive group of roommates. Research indicates that these times in our lives are likely to be characterized by relatively good mental health (Park et al., 2023).
Why is a strong sense of community correlated with better mental health? For some—the more extroverted among us—this may seem perfectly natural. But introverts might find this counterintuitive. In fact, being in community offers benefits beyond the basic extrovert-recharge effect, including:
What Is Mental Health........
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