The importance of our support networks

Support systems or networks we all have them ……. some are bigger and stronger than others they can be our safety nets, but they can feel as if they are stifling us too (particularly in adolescence) they can be ‘comfort blankets’ they can give us confidence and self-esteem but, they could also crush our spirit and joy of life We all have support systems or networks they cluster around us, they can be formal or informal – some are loving, some are demanding some may not seem terribly significant but they all link together to make the props that give us our place and position in life, without them it is difficult to forge and feel a sense of self or identity. A significant theory (look up systems theory) would look at the networks around a person who may be unhappy or considered difficult and challenging to see if there are things around them that could be changed to improve their situation rather than focusing on changing the person! The people we know and have known, the places we have lived or been and ‘belong to’ the formal and informal networks and ‘structures’ around us, all give us a sense of self. Other people help us gain dignity and they may also take that dignity away.

Family Colleagues Friends Consider your own networks, how do they overlap? Where may overlaps cause issues? How much control do you have over your networks? Where do you have most fun? Family Colleagues Friends Where do you feel most fulfilled? Ask participants to look at their own networks and the way they have changed over the years – in terms of size, importance of different areas, this that are significant to their well-being – then think about the way these networks may change if they move into residential care. Where do you feel most secure? Where do you spend most of your time?

People who are paid to support or care for me How has the balance of your ‘people’ network changed over your lifetime? How may it change in the future? Who controls any change? How might these changes influence the way you feel about yourself? Family People who are paid to support or care for me Friends Move forward 60 years, consider how their network may have changed – How may narrowed horizons and/or small or only formal networks influence the way a person feels about themself. What impact might this have on the individual’s dignity? What about social networking ‘friends on the net’, how may this change the balance of relationships? How night you feel if your support network was reducing? How might a person's dignity be influenced by shrinking or expanding networks? What role might support services have in expanding networks?