There are many steps you can take to ensure that you are staying socially connected.
This Brain Fitness Checklist provides some suggestions to get you started and have been chosen because they have shown the biggest impact on improving a particular lifestyle factor. Identify one or two tips from the list to get started. Then slowly try new ones, as you work toward building brain healthy lifestyle habits.
Here are few ways to stay Socially Connected…
Start here:
Identify your social support network including friends and people that might help you in practical ways.
Schedule social time into your calendar.
Spark up a conversation with someone you just met.
Meet one new person outside your social circle.
Volunteer in an area of interest (e.g., library, hospital, garden club, animal shelter).
Join a new group (e.g., book club, quilting group, boating group – check the internet for groups in your area) or a community organization, and engage.
Do this exercise to reflect on the people and relationships in your life.
Challenge yourself more:
Work on your listening skills with this active worksheet and response worksheet.
Learn and then practice assertive vs. aggressive communication skills.
Learn more about the role of social connection in brain health; take the 1 hour course and get access to your personal social connection toolkit. (Log into your Brain Health Vital Signs dashboard to access this course).
Tips for getting started
Brain health challenges in the “start here” section are designed to be implemented by anyone, and will be a great starting point, especially if you scored in the Could Improve or Need to Improve categories in a specific lifestyle factor. Other challenges might be a little harder to do. In fact, you might feel resistance about adopting them at first because you may know they will be difficult to maintain for a long time.
Once you have tried 2 or 3 successfully from the “start here” section, challenge yourself with the additional challenges below. Learn more about social connection and brain health; take the 1 hour course and get access to your personal toolkit.
