Who and How to Choose Your Support Group

In regards to personal wellness plans, so far this week we’ve discussed what a personal wellness plan is and the three elements that make up a personal wellness plan as well as various workbooks, worksheets, and activities you can choose from to develop your own wellness toolbox.

Today, we need to look at your support group. We’ve touched on support groups before during Mental Health Month when discussing crisis prevention plans and the importance of staying touch with your family and friends. However, today we’re going to find out why a support group is an important part of your personal recovery plan.

First, let’s identify what a support group is. You’re probably thinking about a daily, weekly, or monthly meeting with people who share the same or similar situations as yours where you discuss your thoughts and feelings and essentially get “support.” Well, that’s not the kind of support group you need for a personal recovery plan.

Your support group needs to be a bit smaller and more tight-knit, though you may meet a person or three from a meeting with whom you develop a close relationship. In this instance, you may want this person in your support group.

Now, let’s make a list who you might want in your support group.

1. Family members: Choose those family members you feel most comfortable with, especially those who’ve been trekking through this journey of depression (or any other mental ailment) with you. These are the ones who are the most aware of what you’ve been through.
2. Friends: Choose friends for your support group in the same way you’d choose family members. You may want to choose your closest friend, or you may feel more comfortable choosing friends you met from a formal support group. Sometimes co-workers and people you’ve met online fall into your group of friends, too.
3. Teachers: Whether you’re 16 or 60, I’m willing to bet you can look back and remember that teacher. You know the one. She inspired you, he actually taught you, and the two of you connected. If you’re currently in secondary school or college, you may want to choose one of your teachers. Make sure it’s one with whom you’re really comfortable and one whom doesn’t mind being a part of your support group.
4. Counselors/Therapists: Counselors and therapists will come from a variety of places: your school, your local mental health center, your workplace, and your regular mental health care professional.
5. Perfect Strangers: Yes, you read that correctly. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone you don’t know than to someone you know. I’ve heard it’s because people generally care less about what strangers think about them than they care about what their family and friends think about them, and let’s face it – many people with mental health conditions worry about what others think of them. You may meet these “strangers” in chat rooms, on message boards, and in email groups.

Spend some time today thinking about and creating a list of who you might want in your support group. Then, talk with each person about it. It’s important that you both are comfortable with it.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about what to do with your support group once you have one!