We All Need To Belong!
We all need to Belong!
Mental Health Awareness
Many things contribute to us having good mental health. Belonging to a family, marriage, a healthy relationship gives us good self-esteem, being part of a pack gives us a serious head start. Even being a long-standing supporter of a football team like Arsenal or Manchester United can make us feel we belong and a part of something. However, for many people having a defined role and belonging to a workplace, organisation or company is much more important. Wrongly or rightly, people define themselves and are defined by others by what they do. Work becomes the most important thing in their life.
The problem arises when that person loses their job, is made redundant, and often, left by their wife, husband or partner too. Bad things tend to happen in threes. A set of dominoes begins to tumble including being unable to connect in with their favourite football team. These factors when merged with low mental health batteries due to Covid/Lockdown can sometimes have fatal consequences.
The message is not to base your self-esteem exclusively on what you do for a living. But perversely, to join and belong to many different things. Hobbies, interests, helping others! Cold Water Swimming & Exercise Club. Consider joining a church, like the Quakers, Buddhists or Catholics, golf or tennis club, choir, volunteering as a translator for refugees, being a prison visitor, working for local Food Bank charity, Heavy Metal Speed Walkers Club, reconnecting to the local football or cricket club. Reconnecting to your community.
Lastly but certainly not least, if we have learned anything from the Beastly Lockdown, it is the need for people to talk and to feel they belong to a group of sympathetic fellow members. We all need better perspective, to be able to let off steam and to LAUGH. Set up your own band of Humans Anonymous today!
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