Social Support: What it is and Isn’t

Social support is a network of family, friends, colleagues and other acquaintances you can turn to, whether in times of crisis or simply for fun and entertainment.

Social support is not the same as a support group.

Support groups are generally more structured meetings or self-help groups led by health professionals or “peers”.

Why Develop Social Support?

Social support can increase your sense of belonging, purpose and self-worth, promoting positive mental health
People with strong and varied social supports live longer.

Talking with a friend over coffee, visiting a relative or attending a drop in meditation session, can help you through difficult times.

Your friends and social contacts can encourage you to stay free of drugs and alcohol and support you to manage daily emotions such as sadness or depression.

They can also be there to celebrate your successes and you can be there to celebrate theirs.

Social Support

Sometimes just knowing they are there for you is enough to reduce stress and let you get on with living your life
Most important, a new social support network can help you achieve your life goals by providing:
Emotional support
Practical help
Sharing points of view
Sharing information
1)Developing social support: How to cultivate a network of friends to help you through rough times,” Mayo Clinic.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 24th, 2005 at 6:31 pm and is filed under Drug Addiction, Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.