Britney was really onto something with “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” Loneliness is killing us.
And that’s not really hyperbole. Being lonely or feeling socially isolated is linked to chronic diseases like hypertension and cardiovascular disease, psychological problems like depression and anxiety, and even increased risk of premature death.
Enter: social prescribing.
In addition to loneliness, a social prescription can help improve:
- Mood
- Attention
- Creativity
And reduce:
- Stress
- Depression
- Anxiety
Basically, if you’ve got a problem, a social prescription may very well be beneficial.
We tapped Julia Hotz, who literally wrote the book on the topic—The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging—to help explain what a social prescription is and how you can figure out which one may be right for you.
What is a social prescription?
“A social prescription is officially defined as a nonmedical community resource or activity that aims to improve our health and strengthen our connections,” Julia explains. “To offer social prescriptions, instead of asking ‘what’s the matter with you?’, health workers are flipping the script, and asking ‘what matters to you?’ And then, based on the patient’s answer, they prescribe everything from hiking groups and art classes to swimming lessons and theater tickets.”
Here are a few examples:
Problem: Dealing with loss
Symptoms: Sad, stuck, exhausted
Potential Rxs:
- Running
- Walking
- Cycling
- Sea swimming
- Joining a sports team
Problem: Trouble paying attention
Symptoms: Distracted, bored, overwhelmed
Potential Rxs:
- Bird-watching
- Forest-bathing
- Joining a local nature group
Problem: Dealing with an upsetting event/catastrophizing
Symptoms: Worried, anxious, can’t sleep
Potential Rxs:
- Drawing
- Painting
- Watercoloring
- Joining a book club
- Visiting a museum
- Listening to music
- Attending a concert
Problem: Ruminating on a frustrating event
Symptoms: Angry, grumpy, self-pitying
Potential Rxs:
- Volunteering
- Community gardening
- Joining a mutual aid group
Problem: Dealing with loneliness
Symptoms: Left out, isolated, alone
Potential Rxs:
“My book focuses on social prescriptions involving exercise, nature, art, volunteer service, and a sense of belonging,” Julia says. “Hundreds of scientific studies show these activities are good for us—from improving our mood, attention, and creativity, to reducing our symptoms of stress, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. And, really, it’s not surprising! We evolved to move our bodies, to pay attention to nature, to share stories with one another, to cooperate with other people.”
And social prescriptions do even more than that.
“They give us a unique perspective and comfort, and now more than ever, we need that, even if we don’t have a formal diagnosis or sickness,” she explains.
“When we’re alone in our apartments, scrolling through our feeds and inboxes, frustrated about the state of the world, overthinking things we’ve said and done, we tend to ruminate on our problems, which only makes us feel worse,” she says.
“But by getting us out of our heads and into our communities, by breaking up our usual routines with activities we find joyful and meaningful, social prescriptions can help us feel better with a sense of connection to other people and to ourselves. They may not make our underlying stressors go away, but they can bring us a new perspective on them, which always helps.”
“Despite being called social ‘prescriptions’ and there being five neat categories, I think the most important element is that the activity is something that matters to you,” Julia says.
“Lots of people tell me that social prescriptions gave them a chance to reconnect with something they loved to do as a child. Or that they loved learning about in school. Or that they’ve always been curious about but never had a chance to try. So I’d start with those kinds of prompts (here are a few you can ask yourself) and see where they might lead you,” she explains.
“No matter what the activity is, I’d say that social prescriptions are really just gateway drugs to help us become more mindful of the sources of joy, meaning, and relationships all around us,” Julia says. “Life can get really hard, but it’s important to remember that we’re not going through it alone, and it’s not always going to feel this hard. Social prescriptions can help us remember that.”
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