Importance of Support Groups - Essay Example

? Support Groups Grief, isolation, low self-image and self-worth, addiction and disturbed sleep are the profound patterns of social anxiety and depression that have found creeping rapidly in to the human society. Every year, 5000 American young adults commit suicide and suicide is the third global leading death cause, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Moreover, 121 million people are affected by depression worldwide. Severe anxiety and depression is responsible for yearly 85,000 deaths (Laughlin, 2011). Alcohol addiction alone is responsible for 1.8 million deaths states WHO. The common factor leading to the mental misery and sorrow is the social deprivation and lack of support at troubled times. According to M.Kathleen Casey, “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional” Turmoil in a man’s life is part of the circle that goes on. But the power to leave it behind and move on is the part of survival. It is support and faith of others in one that draw out the means of survival from a broken soul. Emergence of support groups to help counter these issues is playing an effective role in saving troubled minds and so their lives. Introduction: “Everybody believes in something. And everybody by virtue of the fact that they believe in something, use that something to support their own existence”-Frank Zappa. The fact that man is a social animal tends us to focus and emphasize on the fact that man cannot and never can survive alone. Whether it is to take help, give help or fulfill mutual understanding or to just befriend someone, man needs others. Family, friend, groups and communities exist because of a number of people thrive together. Since life is a journey with various bumps and roundabouts, man needs help and support from others to find stability in the due course of his errors or troubles. To help man live out depression and troubles, family and friends support each other. Providing solace, peace of mind, emotional corner or practical help, either financially or theoretically to help ease the troubles of man are reasons why one looks for support. Since, problems and situations differ, so does the age group and behavior of people afflicted with problems. Therefore group therapy or group supports tends to reach out the unheard, the lonely, to help provide a common effective platform to voice out problems and help in their solving. Different activities, depending upon the situation a common group of people are going through, are practiced to serve the aim (Pollio And Macgowan, 2011). Support Groups Helping people to leave behind the evil and cruel past and move on with positive self-image is the key role of support groups. Will power, determination, commitment are inbuilt in a man, but it only requires a push to make them stronger and rejuvenate them if lost. Support groups fulfill this aim. Support groups have served as a means of social threauptic corners for people with common problems to interact, communicate and share and relate experiences to help each other and become a shoulder of support for others (Greif And Ephross, 2011). Support group are run by psychotherapists, who are trained mental professionals but they usually are run by laymen, who bring people together to share and support each other on common terms. Background of Support Groups. The failure of medical profession to cure alcoholism and deter its addiction led to the emergence of Alcoholic Anonymous in 1935 to help “hopeless alcoholics” salvage from alcoholism (Wolfelt, 2009). In around late 1970’s Encounter Group, a type of therapeutic group meeting gained popularity giving rise to social group intervention studies, opening and laying foundation to support groups as a means of alternative medicine and healing. Currently many independent, hospital-based and national networks of support groups concerning different problems and age groups have commenced towards the emotional relief and mental well-being of man. Types of Support Groups: Some people suffer from incurable diseases, from decaying relationships or broken hearts and some from un-justice or abuse. Since the turmoil and pain differs, so does the targeted therauptic support group and its members. Different support groups tend to serve different ages and groups of people. Mostly focusing on the common problem they are suffering from, to help provide a common platform and a shoulder to understand and cry on. Classes of support groups include: crisis, addiction, recovery, and social advocacy. Addiction: These groups helps remove evils of society that leads to addiction of things example, alcohol, cigarette or gambling etc. Crisis and Recovery: These groups tend to affect changes within their members suffering from mental trauma or incurable diseases, for instance cancer etc., that tend to develop a feeling of isolation and self-hatred. They focus on self-empowerment, fulfillment and growth. Social Advocacy- these groups focus on fighting for the rights of the deprived or un-heard. They also counsel and uplift their morale example, for instance old homes and committees for disabled. Duration of Therapies and Support Different anxieties and depressions require developing different scenarios to enhance and develop the low-self-esteem, the broken soul or the injured heart. To bring about a change within is not easy. Mental anxiety is one of the critical sciences as it takes time, patience and also motivated focused patterns to remove the negative sustaining and easily developing evils within a person. Therefore time or sessions depend on the mental state of the people in the group. If they are willing to let go of the past and adhere what is coming, then the sessions can be reduced. But if not then prolonged motivating sessions with real life examples and motivations are necessary, which are often long and take time. So far two types of support groups have been popular, the open group and the time-limited groups. Open Groups start and continue indefinitely, with people completing the treatment and leaving while others joining as openings are available. On the other hand, time-limited groups tend to directed and distinctive beginning, middle and an end. No additional groups are added and session and time of the group depends upon the purpose and group membership. Activities of a Support Group Although different support groups deal with different issues and problems, there are certain activities which can be carried out by majority of support groups. These activities not render towards filling the goal, as every group has a distinctive goal. Instead, they tend to help in effective communication and self-analysis of the person. They help a person open up his understanding towards his own problems. Examples of such activities are: Positive Action: Have a segment during each session to discuss the healthy and effective choices members themselves have discovered, and have them read aloud. Discussion Topics: Making list of discussion topics helps members to acknowledge the issues they are dealing with. Also, voting for the important topics help a therapist get focused on the issues faced by members. Potlucks: Have potlucks sessions to celebrate connections and progress made. My Story: Ask each member to relate their story. This increases consciousness and thoughtfulness to others. Volunteering: Get the members involved in volunteering to mentally disabled and other victims so that they realize that whatever they are facing, they are still fortunate. Object Activity: Ask members to relate their personality or feelings to any object. Have them explain why they chose so. This helps to express buried emotions and feeling more easily. Finding a Support Group As a consequence of increasing awareness, support groups are common these days. Before joining a support group, one must analyze their issue and must know the core issue affecting them (Nichols And Jenkinson, 2006). This diagnosis can be done by talking to a friend or a doctor. After acknowledging you problem find the support group that is focused on treating or helping you overcome your trauma. Support group can be found by one of the numerous ways: Ask a doctor, friend, social worker or a psychologist. Look in telephone directory, newspaper or the internet Contact religious places like temples, churches, mosques etc. Ask others you know who are suffering from the same problem Search on online support groups and social networking sites. Is a Support Group aggressive? Support groups depend on the goals and issues they are addressing. Some support groups that address to anxiety and depression also focus on removing built-in aggression. While addiction oriented support groups are often faced with aggression from the members in the beginning as it is difficult to give up addiction. One’s chemical substances inside the body are altered as a result of prolonged addiction or drug abuse because of which aggression flickers as a person is stopped from taking the addictive substance. Gradual therapies and changes induced in a person to encounter addiction also aims on bringing mental peace and stability, encountering aggression. References Top of Form Nichols, K. A., & Jenkinson, J. (2006). Leading a support group: A practical guide. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Bottom of Form Top of Form Wolfelt, A. (2009). The understanding your suicide grief support group guide: Meeting plans for facilitators. Fort Collins, Colo: Companion Press. Bottom of Form Top of Form Laughlin, P. R. (2011). Group problem solving. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. Bottom of Form Top of Form Pollio, D. E., & Macgowan, M. J. (2011). Evidence-based group work in community settings. London: Routledge. Bottom of Form Top of Form Greif, G. L., & Ephross, P. H. (2011). Group work with populations at risk. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bottom of Form Read More