Amy O'Keefe, Community Developer Submitted by: Amy O'Keefe
[email protected] 506-229-2244 (call or texts welcome!)
Last week, as I left my hotel room to attend a conference in Saint John, I approached the elevator as another woman also approached. “Good morning, did you have a good sleep?” I responded and paused for a minute – I can either engage, or stand here awkwardly, I thought. Then asked, “How about you?” and we got into the elevator and continued a chat about our plans for the day, and what we do for a living. That was nice, I thought. I should do that more often.
[email protected] 506-229-2244 (call or texts welcome!)
Last week, as I left my hotel room to attend a conference in Saint John, I approached the elevator as another woman also approached. “Good morning, did you have a good sleep?” I responded and paused for a minute – I can either engage, or stand here awkwardly, I thought. Then asked, “How about you?” and we got into the elevator and continued a chat about our plans for the day, and what we do for a living. That was nice, I thought. I should do that more often.
Fast forward to the conference, where the keynote speaker for the morning was Kiffer Card, a social epidemiologist from British Columbia, speaking on health and loneliness. Did you know that loneliness can impact our health more than other health factors, like diet and exercise? As it turns out, our social well-being is very important to our physical health. Like... the MOST important! One point he mentioned: chatting with a stranger can have a positive impact on your mental health. Go figure, I thought, I just did that this morning! He also shared that you can be surrounded by people but can still experience loneliness if those relationships are not meaningfully filling your cup – I’m sure we’ve all experienced a relationship that’s more draining than it is uplifting.
How can we tackle loneliness here in Fundy Albert:
Chat with your neighbours, check in on someone you haven’t seen in a while. Take the time to stop and connect, really listen, engage.
Did you know that the library in Hillsborough offers social programs? Stop in to have a chat and learn about what social activities might interest you – there’s something for all ages!
For seniors, Nursing Home Without Walls offer social and other health programs and support to seniors locally.
Struggling with connection? Set up a meeting with Alicia, the Social Worker at the health centre to talk about how you can overcome this.
As a Community Developer, my goal is to tackle health from a social perspective – including isolation and loneliness. Ultimately, I want to increase connectedness and help to ensure that the most isolated folks in our community have access to information and programming. I hope that this column can help with that too. If ever you want to connect about your community, please reach out!
How can we tackle loneliness here in Fundy Albert:
Chat with your neighbours, check in on someone you haven’t seen in a while. Take the time to stop and connect, really listen, engage.
Did you know that the library in Hillsborough offers social programs? Stop in to have a chat and learn about what social activities might interest you – there’s something for all ages!
For seniors, Nursing Home Without Walls offer social and other health programs and support to seniors locally.
Struggling with connection? Set up a meeting with Alicia, the Social Worker at the health centre to talk about how you can overcome this.
As a Community Developer, my goal is to tackle health from a social perspective – including isolation and loneliness. Ultimately, I want to increase connectedness and help to ensure that the most isolated folks in our community have access to information and programming. I hope that this column can help with that too. If ever you want to connect about your community, please reach out!
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