Stage 1 · Lesson 3 of 6
The different kinds of support
Nobody gets everything from one person. A useful support system has several kinds of people. Close people you can tell anything to.
Friends you enjoy time with. Peers who share your goals, like classmates or people learning the same skill. Mentors who are further ahead and can guide you.
Communities where you belong to something bigger. And professional help, like a doctor or counsellor, for when things are heavy. Family may fill some of these roles and not others. Seeing the kinds separately shows you where your gaps are.
Common trapexpecting one person, often a best friend, a partner or a parent, to fill every role. That is too much for anyone.
A question to check yourself and an AI practice session come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Start with· follow one of these
- BookPaidTogether: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World (Vivek H. Murthy)
Vivek H. Murthy (Harper Wave) · Paid book
The US Surgeon General on why loneliness is common and how connection is rebuilt
- VideoFreeWhy We All Need to Practice Emotional First Aid (Guy Winch, TEDxLinnaeusUniversity)
Guy Winch (TEDxLinnaeusUniversity)
A short talk on treating loneliness and rejection as injuries you can tend
Keep handy
Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).