Hiya, my name is Shaun, and I’ve recently joined the PAMIS Inclusive Leisure and Culture Team to lead on the Inclusive Communities Project in Aberdeenshire and look at how we can work with the PAMIS community to develop leisure and culture opportunities nationally across Scotland. 

 

It’s Carer’s Awareness Week this week and I’d like to begin by giving a huge shout out to all the fantastic carers and families who give such incredible, humbling, love, care and support to our wonderful PAMIS community members with PMLD. 

 

One of the themes of Carers Week this week is social isolation, and this year Carers week also coincides with Loneliness Awareness week. Social isolation and loneliness are very closely interlinked. So, I’d like to begin my first short blog piece by asking you a question

 

have you ever been lonely?  

 

When I’ve asked this question in the past everyone has raised their hand to indicate yes or say yes (I tend to ask people to close their eyes and answer just for themselves rather than for the group and there is something about ‘saying it out aloud’ or ‘raising your hand’ that somehow makes your response more real). And yes, there is a good chance that everyone will have experienced loneliness at some point in their lives, research has shown this, whether it’s longing for an intimate partner, a yearning for quality friendships and support or just having network or community who share your interests.  

 

Loneliness isn’t straight forward; we can be surrounded by lots of people, and still feel lonely for a bunch of casual buddies to go to the pub with or a close confidante for a life affirming blether. We may just want to be able to get out into the community more and engage with people in the street, a friendly smile, hello or wave can lift our spirits. This is not always possible when caring for someone 24/7 and carers often miss out on life chances and opportunities, even the hustle and bustle of everyday life. 

 

You may be wondering why I’m talking about loneliness when my focus at PAMIS is Inclusive Leisure and Culture. Isn’t that supposed to be all about light relief and fun? Well, yes — but we’re serious about fun and recreation, because it turns out they play an incredibly important role in our lives. Social isolation and loneliness, on the other hand, can have a serious negative impact on our health

 

The World Health Organisation has recognised loneliness as a major health concern and a danger to our health and wellbeing. Other recent research has shown that people with strong social relationships are 50% less likely to die prematurely than people with weak social relationships. That, ‘the impact of lacking social connections on reducing life span is equal to the risk of smoking 15 cigarettes per day and it’s greater than the risk associated with obesity, excess alcohol consumption and lack of exercise.’ Chronic feelings of social isolation and loneliness can affect our sleep, heart function, immune system and stress levels and the aging process. 75% of GPs surveyed in 2013 found that 1 in 5 patient visits every day were driven by loneliness. Loneliness hurts – literally. It’s been found that social pain and feeling of rejection activate the same part of the brain which registers emotional responses to physical pain.  

 

I’m afraid I haven’t found a miracle cure. What I’d like to do is offer my hands out in friendship to see how we can build towards an Inclusive Leisure and Culture community in Aberdeenshire and across Scotland which is fully accessible and exciting for our fantastic loved ones with PMLD and their families. As always at PAMIS, it is the families which lead and educate. It is your programme, to guide what you’d like to see in Aberdeenshire and with other areas involved in the programme. Together we’ll plan activities with our families, community partners and venues and look to support each other in becoming confident in delivering activities, hosting events and making spaces accessible (after all you can’t go out for the day without a loo!) for our PAMIS community. Our families will be able to access an exciting, fun, meaningful range of activities with us and our community partners to help build wider social networks, promote friendships and provide a chance to get out and have some time to enjoy an activity or event together and create shared family memories.  

 

So, if your thing is: art, dance, BBQs, watching Peterhead Football Club, making music, going to gigs, pottery, bike riding, sailing, canoeing, surfing, wild walks in the woods, whizzing down a ski slope, going to an art gallery, spending an afternoon in a family friendly pub doing a pub quiz, visiting country homes, storytelling, going to the park or just sitting and looking at and listening to nature – let’s do it! Engaging in activities whether familiar or new is a chance to ‘re-create’ ourselves, a chance to play, take some time out, a moment to savour so to speak and recharge the batteries a bit, to help fend off the potential of loneliness.  

 

The roots of the word ‘Community‘ are Latin and someone once told me that they could be interpreted as ‘Together and Gift’. I’m really excited to join the team, and I believe that becoming part of the PAMIS community is a gift and am looking forward to working with you. 

 

Shaun

 

To contact me, email [email protected]