Social Wellness

Communication, relationships, and community involvement. People with good social health interact with–and can relate to–a variety of people, have positive and meaningful relationships of all kinds, and create a support system of family and friends.

Social Wellness Resources

Resources to Help Parents (Particularly During the COVID-19 Pandemic)

What Happens When We Lose Our Social Rituals?
From UC Berkeley Greater Good – No one knows exactly how forgoing shared rituals will affect us individually or as a society. We do know that certain ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and graduations, for example, all give us a sense of meaning, which makes forgoing them so hard. Not being able to share these experiences creates a sense of loss and may require some grieving. Dismissing those losses or not accepting our feelings of loss is not necessarily a healthy response. As parents, partners, family members, and friends, we need to allow people to talk about the things that they’re missing and help them find alternative ways to celebrate that gives lasting meaning.

Social + Active at Work

Strategies for Maintaining Social Wellness

National Institutes of Health Social Wellness Toolkit
This toolkit includes resources to help manage and build social wellness at work and at home. It addresses the hardships of acting as a caregiver, the importance of building healthy relationships, and several more, providing checklists and ideas of how to build social wellness for each situation.

Managing COVID-19 Lockdown in an Unhappy Marriage
From WebMD – Being in lockdown is hard enough. But being stuck with a partner you don’t get along with can feel like torture. Whether your relationship is overtly hostile or just strained, it’s time to call a truce. Remind yourself that the current situation is temporary. Once the crisis passes, you will be able to decide how to proceed with your marriage. If you choose being happy (or at least not miserable), then you may need to take some conscious steps to communicate differently than you have before. Consider applying the rules included in this article when you find yourself in a disagreement with your partner.
[Please note that this article assumes that you feel safe in your own home. If you do not feel safe, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline anytime by calling 1-800-799-SAFE(7233) or by chatting with them online https://www.thehotline.org/help/. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.]

Recommended Reading

	Crash Course in Dealing with Difficult Library Customers by Shelley E. Mosley, Dennis C. Tucker, and Sandra Van Winkle (2014) The authors of Crash Course in Dealing with Difficult Library Customers provide strategies for managing stressful situations with problem-causing individuals.
	The dysfunctional library: challenges and solutions to workplace relationships by Jo Henry, Joe Eshleman, and Richard Moniz (2018) By examining negative relationship-based issues, the authors provide practical advice on how to deal with negative behaviors and incivility.
	Transform and thrive: ideas to invigorate your library and your community by Dorothy Stoltz (2018) This book uses a handful of principles to help guide libraries towards opportunities to thrive in their communities.