The importance of social support in health and wellness does not come from isolating oneself into a narrowly defined victim group.
Extreme isolation only promotes a view of others as irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst, which eventually only leads to further alienation.
Gangs, extremist political parties, and religious cults may provide solace.
But to foster the mental flexibility needed to be fully open to what life has to offer.
Acceptance of individual differences and acknowledgment of the humanity of others is where we start.
The Crucial Importance of Social Support in Health and Wellness
Social support is not the same as merely being in the presence of others.
The critical issue is reciprocity: being heard and seen by the people around us, feeling that we are held in someone else’s mind and heart.
For our physiology to calm down, heal, and grow we need a visceral feeling of safety.
No doctor can prescribe friendship and love: These are complex and hard-earned capacities.
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