Hello! Welcome to Day 10 of the 2022 First Responders Are Human event. The event hopes to encourage mental wellness in first responders through physical fitness. Participants should engage in one deliberate physical activity each day of the event. We will also be sharing a daily resiliency tool that can help first responders be resilient on and off the job. While many of the stressors first responders face are systemic, it is still important that we be able to maintain our own mental health.
Today’s Tool: Community
Day 10 is Community. At the most basic level, a community is a group of people who have something in common. A community can be based on things such as physical location, lived experience, hobbies, or values. There are formal communities that have a sense of structure, like churches. And there are also informal communities, such as those based around hobbies. Family is also a type of community. Community, and the social support that comes with it, is a vitally important tool to have in your toolbox.
Why Do I Need A Community?
Through research, social support has been identified as something that is critical to our physical and mental wellbeing. The communities we belong to are typically where we get social support. Social support is so important that lacking it is one of the three factors in Joiner’s Interpersonal Theory on why people die by suicide. How social support helps our mental and physical health is complicated, with it affecting us on many interconnected levels. Some of the ways social support can help you include:
Encouragement/validation and combating negative self-talk.
Support, advice, and feedback.
Engaging in physically and/or mentally stimulating activities.
Complex neuroendocrine and neurobiological processes involving stress hormones
There is no specific way to engage with a community. What is important when it comes to community and mental health is that you feel supported. Some people thrive with a small community of 4-5 people while others spend their time with 20-30 people. Both can be beneficial when the quality of the social support is high. Conversely, perceiving that you lack social support can be detrimental to your health, even if people feel they are supporting you.
Developing Community
There are many ways we can strengthen our social support, even in the time of COVID. You are likely already technically a part of a community, even if you don’t actively engage with it. Some ways to develop community include (but are not limited to):
Hobbies, such as art or writing (or knitting, fishing, baking, collecting stamps, etc).
Recreational/”beer league” sports.
Group fitness activities, like yoga or spin.
Religious or spiritual groups.
Formal peer support groups, including substance use recovery groups like AA/NA.
Social clubs aimed at specific demographics, such as women, LGBTQ, or retired people.
Volunteering for a cause that interests you.
Online gaming
While social media is controversial in the mental health world due to possible detrimental effects, social media also enables us to find communities that we may not be able to access locally or join larger communities. There are Facebook groups, Discord Servers, and Reddit subs for just about any topic you can think of. Thanks to technology, you can have a remote movie night, where everyone watches the same movie while on voice/video chat. There are also gaming platforms such as jackboxgames.com/ that have games specifically designed for remote groups to play together.
Isn’t My Job a Community As Well?
It is, but we didn’t mention it previously on purpose. Your coworkers can be a great source of community, especially in high-stress jobs such as fire/EMS. However, if the main thing you have in common with people is that you work at the same place your perceived community can evaporate quickly. It is important to develop a sustainable community, built around more than a shared place of employment. That being said, studies in first responders have shown a direct correlation between lack of social support at work and/or being ostracized at work and symptoms of stress and trauma. So don’t use this blog post as an excuse to start being a jerk to your coworkers, lol. Overall, it is important to find balance, and ensure that your entire support network isn’t tied to your job.
Community Built Around Stressful or Traumatic Experiences
When people go through stressful, traumatic, or confusing events they often seek out others who have similar lived experience. This can be a great way for people to process the event or learn more. When seeking out community-related to a negative experience, it is a good idea to “test drive” the community first. Does the community discuss recovery or management? Or do you get a sense of anger or frustration? The tone of the community can have an impact on your experiences, and in some cases, community can be detrimental if your goals aren’t aligned with the culture of the group.
Additionally, it is normal to move on from communities related to a specific event. For example, if you joined a support group after the loss of a spouse you may decide to move on from it once you have processed your grief. For some people, staying in a community focused on a difficult experience can have a negative effect on their mental health if they are continuing to participate due to guilt or obligation.
Final Thoughts
You may have noticed that with this year’s online event we are engaging people on multiple social media platforms and have social aspects to our website for registered participants. This is because we understand the importance of community and want people to encourage and support each other.
Helpful Links & Sources:
To Do:
Follow the event on Facebook, Instagram, and join the Strava group.
Download the daily posters to use on social media.
Reflect on today’s tool and how you’ve incorporated it into your life or how you might incorporate it.
Post your reflection and physical activity on social media or the participant’s group to help spread the word and to encourage accountability and camaraderie.
Use the hashtags #movementismedicine and #firstrespondersarehuman on social media.