Module 5: Social Wellness

MODULE MAP:

1. What is Social Wellbeing?

2. What are the Health Benefits of Social Connection?

3. Building Social Skills.

4. Social Emotional Learning: Social Awareness and Relationship Skills

5. Communication Styles

• Students will learn how social wellness influences their ability to communicate with
others.

• They will learn how social wellness contributes to building and maintain meaningful
relationships.

• Students will learn how the four main styles of communication—passive, aggressive,
passive-aggressive, and assertive—impact how they build professional and personal
relationships with others.

We've all heard of physical and mental health, but another important aspect to our overall
health and wellbeing is social health. In fact, recently in the United States, the surgeon general
revealed that social isolation and loneliness just topped obesity to claim second place as one of
the top three killers in America.

Humans are highly social creatures, but that doesn't always mean that our social interactions
are healthy. In this informative talk, Dr. Chelsea Shields, explains how our emotions can easily
be high-jacked and then offers guidance on how to evaluate and level up our social health.

Watch: How’s Your Social Health? Let’s Test It with Dr. Chelsea Shields

Understanding Social Wellbeing

Understanding Social Wellbeing
The physical and mental health of a person, as well as the health of a society, are greatly
influenced by social connectivity, which is a significant predictor of health outcomes.

Social Wellbeing is a sense of belonging to a community and making a contribution to society.

(1)

Reference: (1). Deitz, R.L., Hellerstein, L.H., St. George, S.M. et al. A qualitative study of social
connectedness and its relationship to community health programs in rural Chiapas,
Mexico. BMC Public Health 20, 852 (2020). (2). University of New Hampshire, Social Wellness

Social wellness may look like:

Development of assertiveness skills not passive or aggressive ones.

Balancing social and personal time.

The ability to be who you are in all situations.

Becoming engaged with other people in your community.

Valuing diversity and treat others with respect.

Continually being able to maintain and develop friendships and social networks.

The ability to create boundaries within relationship boundaries that encourage communication,
trust and conflict management.

Remembering to have fun.

Having supportive network of family and friends.

The Health of Social Connection

Read: We Need to Understand the Difference Between Isolation and Loneliness by

How many close friends and relatives do you have with whom you feel at ease and can discuss
private matters? How many of them do you see at least once a month? Do you participate in any
groups? These are among the questions on a survey called the Berkman-Syme Social Network
Index, which physicians use to determine whether someone is “socially isolated.”

Pause and Reflect

🌐
 Complete the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index used to determine whether someone is
“socially isolated” or in this case, to self-evaluate your social connectedness.

This self assessment is entirely anonymous and is not intended as a diagnostic tool, but rather,
as a method for checking in with your social wellbeing.

This reflection is optional.

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The Health of Social Connection: Loneliness

The Health of Social Connection: Loneliness

Everybody feels lonely sometimes. But only few of us are aware how important this feeling was
for our ancestors - and that our modern world can turn it into something that really hurts us.
Why do we feel this way and what can we do about it?

Loneliness and social isolation in older adults are serious public health risks affecting a
significant number of people in the United States and putting them at risk for dementia and
other serious medical conditions.
A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points
out that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of
adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated.

Older adults are at increased risk for loneliness and social isolation because they are more likely
to face factors such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss.

Reference (Verbatim): [Link]

[Link]

Social isolation significantly increased a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, a risk
that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.

Social isolation was associated with about a 50% percent increased risk of dementia.

Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation or loneliness) was associated with a
29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.

Loneliness was associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide.

Loneliness among heart failure patients was associated with a nearly 4 times increased risk of
death, 68% increased risk of hospitalization, and 57% increased risk of emergency department
visits.

The report by NASEM found loneliness among vulnerable older adults, including immigrants;
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations; minorities; and victims of elder
abuse. It also points out that the literature base for these populations is sparse and more
research is needed to determine risks, impacts, and appropriate actions needed.

Current research suggests that immigrant, and lesbian, gay, bisexual populations experience
loneliness more often than other groups. Latino immigrants, for example, “have fewer social ties
and lower levels of social integration than US-born Latinos.” First-generation immigrants
experience stressors that can increase their social isolation, such as language barriers,
differences in community, family dynamics, and new relationships that lack depth or history, the
report states. Similarly, gay, lesbian, and bisexual populations tend to have more loneliness than
their heterosexual peers because of stigma, discrimination, and barriers to care.
 Optional Read: ‘I was lacking deeper connection’: can online friends be the answer to
loneliness?

For those who live with disabilities or conditions that hinder accessibility to certain jobs and
events, having a chance to communicate online is a force for good.

Read Article

We'll go to the doctor when we feel flu-ish or a nagging pain. So why don’t we see a health
professional when we feel emotional pain: guilt, loss, loneliness? Too many of us deal with
common psychological-health issues on our own, says Guy Winch. But we don’t have to. He
makes a compelling case to practice emotional hygiene — taking care of our emotions, our
minds, with the same diligence we take care of our bodies.
Watch: How to practice emotional first aid by Guy Winch via Ted Ed

Social Awareness and Relationship Skills: Building Social Skills

Social Awareness and Relationship Skills: Building Social Skills
According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional, Learning (CASEL), social-
emotional learning (SEL) is “the process through which children and adults understand and
manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish
and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”

Reference (Verbatim): [Link]

and-relationship-skills/

Social awareness involves the ability to understand and empathize with others, particularly with
people from different backgrounds than one’s own.

“Relationship skills” is the ability to build positive relationships, especially with diverse
individuals and groups, using a variety of methods such as active listening, and communication
and conflict resolution skills. These skills also include the ability to resist pressure and to seek
out and offer help.

Ultimately, social awareness and relationship skills are closely linked. For example, resolving
a conflict with a colleague (relationship skills) is made easier when both parties can
empathize with each other (social awareness).

Skills that develop social awareness include:

Reference (Verbatim): [Link]

and-relationship-skills/
 1 - Showing understanding and empathy for others

2 - Identifying social cues (verbal, physical) to determine how others feel

3 - Predicting and understanding others’ feelings and reactions

 4 - Practicing empathy, including perspective taking

5 - Recognizing individual and group strengths and differences

6 - Using reflective listening to understand and demonstrate respect for others

7 - Recognizing and using family, school, and community resources

 8 - Demonstrating cultural humility

9 - Awareness of inequities and privileges that affect individuals and groups

Understanding Social Emotional Learning
We breathe without even thinking about it. However, when we do start to think about each
breath, something changes. Likewise, when we pause to consider what is really going on with
the people around us, some things become remarkably clear. Childhood trauma can affect a
person’s entire life, but changing how we respond to others makes a big difference
to individuals and our whole society. Caige Jambor explains how social-emotional learning (SEL)
changes the conversation from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” and
how everyone can begin to use SEL tools.

Watch: How Social-Emotional Learning Benefits Everyone by Caige Jambor

Understanding Your Communication Style

When we think about social connectedness, we often don’t consider how our communication
style influences the ways in which we engage with other people and build our social networks.

Understanding your communication style will help you develop meaningful and authentic
relationships.

There are four main styles of communication: passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and
assertive.

Depending on the circumstance, you may use one forum of communication more than another.
For example, you may be assertive when advocating for health needs for a loved one, but
passive, when requesting a raise from your employer

Reference (Adapted): [Link]

styles#:~:text=There%20are%20four%20main%20styles,passive%2Daggressive%2C%20and%20a
ssertive

Passive Communication:
 • Not expressing feelings or needs; ignoring your own personal rights and allowing others
to do so

• Deferring to others for decision making in order to avoid tension or conflict

• Often leads to misunderstanding, built-up anger, or resentment

• Can be a safer communication option when a conflict may escalate to violence

Examples include statements like “I’m okay with whatever you want to do”; body language
includes failing to make eye contact or looking down.

Passive-Aggressive Communication:

• Appearing passive on the surface, but subtly acting out anger

• Exerting control over others by using sarcasm and indirect communication, or avoiding
the conversation

• Limited consideration for the rights, needs, or feelings of others

Examples include passive statements and body language followed by giving the "silent
treatment", spreading rumors, and sabotaging another person’s efforts.

Assertive Communication:

• Direct, honest communication of thoughts and feelings

• Respecting the feelings, ideas, and needs of others while also asserting your own

• May not be effective when interacting with individuals that threaten your
personal safety

• People often misinterpret assertive behavior as aggressive.

Examples include “I” statements like “I feel...when you…and I need for you to do…”; body
language includes eye contact, straight posture, and relaxed gestures.

Keep in Mind:

• Most of us don’t use a single communication style in every interaction; they’re simply
tools that you can use to communicate.

• In general, assertive communication is most likely to lead to respectful and longer-term

relationships, so that’s the style to strive for in most situations.

• However, passive and aggressive communication might work better on some occasions.
For example, if you are feeling fearful that you are about to be harmed, passive
 communication may help to defuse the situation and aggressive communication might
prevent the problem from getting worse.

• While the passive communication style can be helpful, when people pair it with subtle
aggression, the passive-aggressive style is likely to interfere with or undermine healthy
relationships.

Reference (Adapted): [Link]

styles#:~:text=There%20are%20four%20main%20styles,passive%2Daggressive%2C%20and%20a
ssertive

OPTIONAL LISTEN: Minding Your Mind - The Importance of Social Connection

Modern psychology focusses mainly on what you, the individual, can do to improve your mental
health, but are we missing something? Humans are social animals, so shouldn’t we also focus on
what we can do to improve the collective mental health of the various groups we belong to – our
family group, friend group, workplace and community. How do we go about doing that?

Listen to Podcast

Module Complete