RCCS Tidbit of the Month: Making Connections

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PHOTO VIA DISABLED AND HERE

PHOTO VIA DISABLED AND HERE

The following post is from our Recovery-Centered Clinical System (RCCS) Tidbit of the Month series. Each month, the RCCS Steering Committee creates practices to support our recovery culture within our programs and among staff. Click here to learn more about the RCCS.

Community Connections

A component of the Making Connections Conversation of the RCCS.

Buddhist psychology has long taught us that nothing exists independently. Everything affects everything else; we exist in a life that is interconnected and continually changing. We now have COVID-19 awakening us all to the truths about our interdependence — we can’t live in a separate world, impervious to what is happening around us. Taking care of ourselves is intimately linked and connected to taking care of each other.

Human beings are social animals. Our brains are structured to be in a relationship with others. Having people or other important connections in our lives creates opportunities and enhances our recovery.

When things happen in our lives, positive or negative, we want to share it with others. If positive, we want to share our joy and happiness. If negative, we want support and to feel that we are not alone in our feelings.

Connections are defined not just with people. Connections can be with our pets, our spirituality, our family, a community of people, a job, our schooling. Connections give us a sense of belonging and reduce our feelings of loneliness.

In the RCCS, program staff work to assist clients and members in building and/or re-building their connections. These connections include connecting to ourselves, family and friends, our pets, a larger purpose and meaning, including our spiritual practices and to communities of people.

Despite the challenges this pandemic is creating, it’s also been a good reminder about what and who is important in our lives. What nurtures us? Who do we love? Remembering that we’re all in this together, we can emerge with a stronger sense of community – becoming increasingly aware of our inter-connectedness.

Practice:

Review these areas of possible community connections. Are there connections that you want to improve or strengthen?

  1. Roommates/Housemates

  2. Your neighbors (your immediate neighbors or your large neighborhood)

  3. A Hobby Community (it could be sports, going to concerts, movies, collecting or making things)

  4. Job/Coworkers

  5. School/Classmates

  6. Non-profit or Volunteer Community

  7. A Spiritual Community (does not have to be a traditional faith-based practice community)

Answer these questions:

  • What’s one of your strengths as an active member of these communities?

  • To be even stronger, what’s one thing you could start or stop to connect better?

  1. I could start ____

  2. I could stop ____

Using Zoom to Stay Connected:

So many of us are using Zoom and FaceTime to stay connected during COVID-19. Enjoy a great Zoom moment that connects one young girl’s hopes and dreams of seeing Hamilton!