<
https://theconversation.com/it-just-lifted-me-new-research-suggests-shared-reading-groups-combat-loneliness-and-the-effects-can-be-astounding-239830>
"In
Eleanor Rigby, the Beatles asked: “All the lonely people – where do they
all come from?” The answer to that question is complex, but loneliness is a
widespread feeling among Australians. One in three people feel lonely, and one
in six experience severe loneliness.
The findings of our research suggest that shared reading groups, where people
from all walks of life meet regularly to read and discuss literature, can
provide the kind of meaningful social connections necessary to alleviate
loneliness.
In shared reading, small groups of people read aloud short stories and poetry
under the guidance of a trained facilitator, who gently steers the conversation
to encourage deeper conversations about life, emotions and personal experience.
Not quite a book club or a self-help group, shared reading unites the best of
both. It can take place in a variety of settings: libraries, community houses,
care homes, prisons, hospitals and schools. The aim is to reconnect people with
themselves and others, thereby nurturing wellbeing and social inclusion.
In 2022-2023, we assembled a team of researchers to run a pilot project with
ten shared reading groups in Melbourne and Bendigo. We wanted to find out if
the groups could help Victorians leave behind their sense of isolation after
the pandemic and improve mental health. Our partners included libraries, a
neighbourhood house, a hospital, an aged care home and the Victorian Mental
Illness Awareness Council. We surveyed 35 participants and conducted 26
follow-up interviews.
The groups read stories and poems chosen by the facilitators. Texts were
selected for their potential to evoke strong feelings and describe broadly
relatable human experiences, so as to encourage members of the groups to open
up. Authors included Kate Chopin, Langston Hughes, Mary Oliver, Li-Young Lee,
Tobias Wolff, Susan Glaspell, Moniza Alvi, Maya Angelou, James Joyce and Judith
Wright.
Although our participants differed in age, social background, mental and
physical health and cultural identity, the most salient feature was that they
came to feel a deep sense of social connection and improved wellbeing. In fact,
almost all of the surveyed participants said the group had made them feel
better, while the majority found it helped them relate to others in a deeper
way.
Take 94-year-old “Elaine”, who joined a shared reading group shortly after
moving into aged care. When she joined, she was feeling “miserable” and “crook
on everybody”, but she found the group rejuvenating: “it just lifted me and I
couldn’t wait till the next week […] It brought me out of myself.”
The positive effects were not only social. “When I came here I wasn’t walking,
I was in a wheelchair,” Elaine reported. “I had a boost in my walking […] It
was a struggle to get here. But I could run back.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
