Reprioritize Your Support Team
If you’ve been feeling some pangs of loneliness during this pandemic – and who hasn’t? – check out this interview with former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. He suggests that we can fight off that loneliness by reprioritizing our social connections.
“Despite all of the pain that this virus is causing, it also presents an opportunity for us to push a reset on how we’re living our lives, particularly when it comes to social connection,” Dr. Murthy says. “I think we have the opportunity to choose social revival over a deepening of our loneliness. And we can do that if we step back and use this opportunity to reprioritize people and relationships in our lives.”
For caregivers, his insights show how critical it is to stay connected and to have a solid support team by our side, and that’s our theme for this week. Who do you have that you can rely on in times of need or crisis, or to celebrate a victory? That’s your support team. They may be family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors, or other acquaintances in your community. You might connect with them in-person, via telephone, or on a virtual platform.
And they generally come in four types:
Emotional – expressing empathy, love, trust, and caring
Instrumental – providing tangible aid and service
Informational – offering advice, suggestions, and information
Appraisal – providing feedback for self-evaluation
As a caregiver, I typically turn to my immediate family for emotional support. For instrumental support, I’m fortunate to have a lot of people on my team, from our board members, staff, and interns to our peer support leaders and other volunteers. I’m also blessed to have many people I turn to for informational support (though I really don’t like people telling mewhatto do – I’d rather look to my support team to helpempowerme to make my own decisions and solve my own problems). And for appraisal support … well, there are lots of people – friends, family, colleagues, community partners, and advisors/mentors – who challenge me to be a better, greater version of myself each and every day.
To all of those who I’m lucky to have on my support team, THANK YOU.
And if your support team is not yet what YOU want it to be, try these suggestions from our new friends at MindHealthBC and their HereToHelp project:
Don’t be afraid to take social risks. Meet new people, try new activities, be open to new experiences.
Be specific with your supporters. If someone asks how they can help, ask for a specific task.
Walk away from toxic relationships. If you are in need of support but someone in your life is draining the energy from you, this might not be the right time for the relationship.
Be patient. It takes time to develop strong, caring relationships with new people.
Nurture the social supporters in your circle. Nothing can encourage continued support more than feeling appreciated.
And don’t forget … Courage to Caregivers stands ready and willing to join YOUR support team.