flourish,tonamebutafew.“Itmaybearesponseto
the amount of time we spend online. We’re craving
face-to-face connection,” says Dr Wakefield.
“Also, perhaps because we’re all busier these days,
we are more careful about what we do in our spare
time. For me, joining craft and knitting groups gives
meacreativeoutletaswellastimewithlike-minded
people that I share an interest with.”
Groups can also help provide a sense of purpose,
which may explain why we’re now queuing up to re-join
once unfashionable groups such as Women’s Institute.
Nearly 60,000 women have joined the WI over the past
five years, including a growing number of under 35s,
attracted by campaigns to protect legal aid help for
victims of domestic violence, and to employ more
midwives in the NHS.
We’re also signing up to schemes such as GoodGym,
groups that combine running with voluntary work in
the community, and GreenGym, conversation schemes
that focus on improving the local environment as a
form of exercise.
“As well as getting exercise, members learn new
skills, feel connected to their environment, meet new
people, and feel part of their community, all of which
we know are good for our mental wellbeing,” says
Good Gym founder Ivo Gormley.GET THE BALANCE RIGHT
There’s no doubt that digital platforms such as
WhatsApp have made it easier to both create
social groups, and keep in touch with them, even
when we’re busy.
Digital platforms have also allowed us to find and
connect with people who share our interests, however
niche, both locally and across the globe. “The internet
is a gateway for interaction that ultimately helps us feel
less lonely because it helps us find like-minded people,”
says integrative psychotherapist Hilda Burke
(hildaburke.co.uk). “I have connected with fellow
greyhound owners as far away as San Francisco on
Instagram but I’ve also connected with several locally
that I’ve met up with. If you have a niche interest you
might not find your tribe locally, but chances are you
will find them online, and that creates the opportunity
to meet them in real life.”
But we need to be aware of when we are using online
connections as a substitute for real life, says Burke. “It
can be easier and feel safer to connect online, but you
miss out on real-life social support if you are not
connected to the community in which you live in some
way. And joining a local group that shares a common
purpose can help you find things in common with
people who may initially seem very different you.”
If you’ve yet to make a New Year’s resolution, or
you’ve given up on the one you did make, here’s a
suggestion. Resolve to find a way to join up with a
group of people that share your values or a passion
at least once a month. Then let the power of
PHOTOGRAPHY: PLAIN PICTURE; STOCKSY ‘collected connectedness’ work its magic.“The cerebral cortex reg isters
digital contact, but the emotional centre
of our brain, the amygdala, doesn’t”