Creating circles of support
How to be there for someone, in your own unique way.
You probably noticed some changes in a friend’s behavior. Maybe you picked up on some stress in your colleague’s voice. Or perhaps, a family member has slowly begun opening up to you about their depression for the first time.
It makes you want to do something, but you’re not sure what or where to start. You wonder whether it’s your place to do something, whether you have the right expertise, or if your intervention might make things worse!
We understand, being able to sense something’s off, yet feeling unsure how to help can be confusing, to say the least. And that’s why, instead of focusing on mental health struggles, this article sheds light on mental health support and how FormScore can help you with just that.
Support looks different for everyone.
The world of mental health challenges is vast and gray; no two struggles look the same. But the people between mental health professionals and the person struggling play a unique and important role in managing their symptoms.
Just how mental health challenges don’t look the same, the types of mental health support behavior don’t either. The load on the care industry is apparent, and the need to think of complementary ways to support mental wellbeing has become imperative.
We truly believe each of us has a role to play in this journey. All we need is a little direction and guidance.
Let’s talk about psychosocial support.
If we look around our circle of connections, we might notice a variation in the type of support we get when we feel mentally unwell, and also in the type of support we give others. This is because when it comes to support, there isn’t just one way to be a mental health ally — we can give support in ways that feel more comfortable to us.
Researchers in this field call it psychosocial support. The term ‘psychosocial’ is essentially the dynamic relationship between the psychological (emotions, thoughts and feelings) and the social (friends, family, social values and cultural practices) dimensions of a person.
We are the sum of our relationships and the people around us. Only when we feel safe and protected around our connections will we feel like opening up about our personal struggles. Psychosocial support helps people care for themselves and their relationships with others. This makes people feel safe and better able to deal with a crisis.
If people feel empowered to care for themselves and each other, their individual and collective self-confidence and resilience will improve. This, in turn, will encourage recovery and strengthen their ability to deal with challenges in the future.
Circles of support on FormScore.
At FormScore, we’re on a mission to make people more intentional about their wellbeing. And we recognise the importance of a strong support system to make coping with mental struggles easier.
As a company that believes in the power of intermediary sources of help, we are launching the Circle of Support, a concept to help people identify their unique support superpower!
Are you the one people come to for solutions? Maybe the one people come to for some cheer and lightness? Or perhaps the one who provides wholesome advice?
Our team worked hard to bring this idea to life because we truly believe each of us have a role to play in mental health care — we just don’t know what that role is yet!
While we navigate the complex world of recovery, it’s important to build and nurture our unique circles of support. By creating these archetypes, we hope to make each person feel empowered in their own unique abilities to support their loved ones.
It opens up doors for creating more formalised thought leadership on ways we can improve our support skills. And we see that as an important step forward in strengthening the conversation around peer support for better mental health.
We all have mental health. We all have Form!
Wouldn’t it be great to know your support style (the way you ask and receive help_ so you can make life better for those around you? Simple take this short quiz to discover your support language!