Episode 04: Sister Friends Sister Circles
Goal Friends by Neosha Gardner/CreateHER Stock
Have you been watching this season of Insecure on HBO? *No spoilers. I promise.
If you’re not familiar with the show, then let me share a brief bit about it. It’s a show which was created by Issa Rae who stars as Issa Dee. Throughout the show we watch Issa’s journey as she navigates both her professional and personal life while living in L.A. One of the things I love about the show is that we get to see her experiences with her girls/sister-friends/sister circle. We also get to see how those experiences impact her in so many ways. The show is currently about midway through season 4, and we’re seeing conflict between Issa and her best friend, Molly.
This has had me thinking about social support networks and their impact on our overall health and wellness. I’ve also been thinking about how we can strengthen, create, and, in Issa and Molly’s case, work towards healing our social support relationships. So in this episode we’re going to learn about social wellness and how we can nurture it in our lives through the use of sister friendships.
In this episode we’ll discuss:
What social wellness is.
Different types of social support.
Health benefits of social support.
The history of sister circles within the Black community.
Tips on how to strengthen, create, and mend broken friendships.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Evans, S. Y., Bell, K., & Burton, N. K. (2017). Black women's mental health. Balancing strength and vulnerability. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Homecoming Podcast with Dr. Thema Ep 44: Repairing Broken Friendships
Neal-Barnett, A., Stadulis, R., Murray, M., Payne, M. R., Thomas, A., & Salley, B. B. (2011). Sister Circles as a Culturally Relevant Intervention for Anxious Black Women. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 18(3), 266–273. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2850.2011.01258.x
Neal-Barnett, A. M., Stadulis, R., Payne, M. R., Crosby, L., Mitchell, M., Williams, L., & Williams-Costa, C. (2011). In the company of my sisters: Sister circles as an anxiety intervention for professional African American women. Journal of Affective Disorders, 129(1-3), 213–218. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2010.08.024
Sunday Jumpstart Podcast with Jessica Lauren Ep 77: How to Build A Supportive Network
Uchino, B. N. (2009). Understanding the Links Between Social Support and Physical Health: A Life-Span Perspective With Emphasis on the Separability of Perceived and Received Support. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4(3), 236–255. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01122.x
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