The topic of ‘Emotional connection’

Part of the mental health and wellbeing advice series

Why is connection important?

As adults, the need for emotional connection plays a key role in staying well. The loss of an emotional connection following bereavement, for example, can prevent a person moving on and establishing new relationships. Often, when our need for emotional connection is unmet we can find ourselves trying to control feelings of loneliness through comfort eating or chasing the buzz of emotional intensity instead.

How do you look after your mental health and wellbeing?

That’s the basis for a new campaign for 2023 which focuses on 12 ‘emotional needs’ – one for each month – to bring you practical tips, people’s stories, and support to keep you well.

Be Well, Feel Well: A healthier Suffolk in 2023 is a partnership between Suffolk Mind, Public Health and Communities and a range of community groups teaming up to focus on ways for you to be well throughout the year. Look out for a new article every month with information for how you can keep healthy, get the help you need and even save money.

Jon Neal, Chief Executive, Suffolk Mind

Top tips to stay connected

l Relationship skills, like rapport building, are the key to building new connections and enriching the relationships we already have.

l Being curious and showing an interest in others is important. This includes being ready to learn about someone new, what makes them tick and what is important to them.

l If you’d like to do more to support others who may need someone to talk to, consider volunteering.

The Befriending Network

At the Befriending Network we recognise the value of having someone to spend time with, to talk to about our experiences, share knowledge and stories, confide in or simply have a laugh together. This can all happen at the same time. Emotional connection is the essence of what we do.

The Befriending Network supports people over the age of 60 across West Suffolk who can benefit from companionship. Befriending gives people something to look forward to and a renewed sense of self-worth at a time in their life when many feel they have nothing new to contribute to society.

There are many aims of befriending, such as combatting isolation and promoting independence but fundamentally it is about the joy of social interaction and making new friends.

‘We get on like a house on fire and have so much in common. She is often one of the only people I see and it really brightens up my week. She brings cake and we chat.’ Our volunteers come from all backgrounds and age groups, and we support volunteers who have health conditions and are unable to work but still have a great deal to offer.

‘Being a befriender has made me feel a sense a purpose when I was at times feeling like I had none. I fully benefit from this just as much as the person I was matched with. I didn’t realise how much this could bring to my life and I now don’t see it as voluntary work, it’s truly a friendship.‘ As befrienders, we are not social workers or medics, but this can be an advantage. On the face of it we are informal and light touch. To us at the Befriending Network, it is about relationships and a feeling of community.

Where can I find out more?

thevoluntarynetwork.org/befriending ruralcoffeecaravan.org.uk ourspecialfriends.org volunteersuffolk.org.uk