Community: 10 Practical ways to reduce loneliness.

Loneliness and isolation contribute to various mental health conditions, but day-to-day community interactions can significantly improve our wellbeing. Research from Blue Zones—regions with high numbers of healthy centenarians—shows social connectedness is a primary driver for living a long, happy life.

• Belonging to a community decreases loneliness, lowers stress, and provides crucial support during challenging times
• Contributing to community activities fosters purpose, empathy, and enhances overall wellbeing
• Blue Zones demonstrate the power of social connectedness for living to 100+ with good health
• Practical strategies for connecting include reaching out to friends and family
• Joining local clubs, business networking groups, or volunteering for causes you care about
• Becoming a regular at local establishments helps build recognition and small conversations
• Taking classes, using online resources to find offline communities, and joining peer support groups
• Seeking help from a mental health professional if engaging with a community feels challenging or overwhelming
• Laughter is a powerful connector when spending time with like-minded individuals
• Finding communities that match your interests creates meaning and fosters a sense of belonging

Remember, you matter. Be kind to yourself and be kind to those around you.

"If you or someone you know needs support, please contact one of these Australian mental health services. In an emergency, always call 000."

Lifeline Australia
Phone: 13 11 14 (24/7)
Web: lifeline.org.au

Suicide Call Back Service
Phone: [phone] (24/7)
Web: suicidecallbackservice.org.au

Beyond Blue
Phone: [phone] (24/7)
Web: beyondblue.org.au

Kids Helpline (for people aged 5-25)
Phone: [phone] (24/7)
Web: kidshelpline.com.au

MensLine Australia
Phone: [phone] (24/7)
Web: mensline.org.au

SANE Australia (complex mental health issues)
Phone: [phone] (10am-10pm AEST, Mon-Fri)
Web: sane.org

QLife (LGBTIQ+ support)
Phone: [phone] (3pm-midnight AEST)
Web: qlife.org.au

Open Arms (Veterans & Families Counselling)
Phone: [phone] (24/7)
Web: openarms.gov.au

1800RESPECT (sexual assault, domestic violence)
Phone: [phone] (24/7)
Web: 1800respect.org.au

Headspace (youth mental health, ages 12-25)
Phone: [phone] (9am-1am AEST)
Web: headspace.org.au

13YARN (Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support)
Phone: 13 92 76 (13YARN) (24/7)
Web: 13yarn.org.au

Music produced by Hayden Smith
https://www.haydensmith.com/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Laughter Clinic Podcast with
comedian and suicidologist MarkMcConville, bringing you
practical, evidence-basedself-care strategies, the latest
research in mental health,along with conversations that
inspire, educate and entertain.
This is the Laughter ClinicPodcast with your host, mark

(00:26):
McConville.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Hey folks, mark McConville here, how are you
going?
Are you looking for some waysto feel a little bit less alone
and isolated and maybe start toget connected to a community?
The unfortunate thing is we'veall had times in our lives where
we felt a bit alone and alittle bit isolated.
And the research shows that.
You know, loneliness is acontributing factor to various

(00:55):
mental health conditions some,you know, including depression,
anxiety, decreased sense ofoverall wellbeing.
And you know, while thepolitical leaders can talk about
mental health policies andmental health funding and that
sort of stuff, it is ourday-to-day interactions at a
community level which reallyhelp our mental health and

(01:16):
well-being.
So let's talk about keybenefits to belonging to a
community Obviously, decreasedsense of loneliness and
isolation, lowered levels ofstress, anxiety and depression.
Having a support network aroundyou during challenging times as
you navigate negative lifeevents is great.
Knowing that people care foryou, knowing that once you

(01:40):
become a part of a community, ithelps build your resilience and
your coping skills becausepeople are in your corner.
Contributing to communityactivities fosters a sense of
purpose, empathy, feelingaccepted and valued, enhances
your overall sense of well-beingand self-worth.
You know and the evidence tosupport this stuff is incredible

(02:01):
.
From around the world there isevidence to support the
importance of a sense ofbelongingness and community
engagement.
The one I want to talk to youabout, probably most
significantly, is Blue Zones.
I don't know if you're familiarwith these.
So there's five regions aroundthe world that have a high level
of centenarians, people amongsttheir populations that live to

(02:22):
100.
But they're not only living to100, they're living to 100 well
like really well low levels ofcancer, low levels of heart
disease, cardiovascular disease,low levels of neurodegenerative
disease, you know dementia andAlzheimer's and all that sort of
stuff.
And while you know they talkabout, there's commonalities

(02:44):
amongst diet and physicalactivity.
Being active, socialconnectedness is probably one of
the biggest drivers for livinga long and happy life amongst
these communities.
I invite you to check it out.
Blue Zones they're pretty cool,they're pretty interesting.
Okinawa is probably the onethat you'll find first.
So feeling less alone and lessisolated can be challenging.

(03:07):
I get it.
It really can.
So I'm going to give you 10practical tips, practical
strategies that you may or maynot have thought of, that might
help you engage and become partof a community and give you a
sense of belongingness.
So firstly, obviously, reachingout to friends and family
because they're your immediatecommunity.
So if you haven't spoken tothem for a while or just send

(03:27):
them a text message or a phonecall or whatever, but they're
your first port of call.
Joining a local club or a groupof like-minded people, whether
it's a sports club, you don'thave to play sport, being a
supporter is enough.
You know chess club, book club,whatever you're into, there's
clubs and pretty much anythingthese days.
Or maybe you're a businessperson and you own your own

(03:49):
business.
Becoming a part of a businessnetworking group might be your
thing.
You know BNI, rotary, join yourlocal chamber of commerce great
way to engage and get out andbe part of your local community.
And, who knows, you might endup getting some work out of it.
Volunteering and fundraising forcauses that you're passionate
about, I've got to tell youvolunteering is probably one of

(04:12):
the most satisfying andrewarding communities to be
involved with.
I know this from personalexperience.
During the 90s, for five yearsI was a volunteer with the
Queensland State EmergencyService and I made some
fantastic friends and thatcommunity I felt a part of was
so powerful.
We did some really meaningfulwork for some people who

(04:35):
couldn't help themselves duringtimes of disaster and that stuff
really fills your cup and I'mstill friends with some of these
people that I was a part ofthat community with.
So that's number four.
Volunteering Fantastic communityto be a part of.
Attend a local event in yourarea, maybe markets or a music
festival or a sporting event.
Becoming a regular at localplaces, you know, going to the

(04:58):
same place regularly, getting tobe known and recognised.
You know like I do my groceryshopping at the same place every
week and there's somethingpretty cool about, you know,
when you walk in and you see thesame person there and it's like
hey, mark, how you going?
Yeah, good mate, you knowwhat's been happening.
Oh, big week, whatever, youknow.
So those small conversationsyou know, just being seen

(05:18):
regularly in your localcommunity can lead to small
conversations which in turn canlead to big conversations, and
who knows where that stuff canlead.
Number seven taking a class orworkshop.
You know, finding somethingthat you think, oh, I wouldn't
mind doing an art class or amusic class or, you know, dance
class or something like that.
Number eight go online to getoffline.

(05:40):
You know, if you're a bitunsure as to what it is that you
wouldn't mind getting involvedwith.
Do a search, do a Google search, see what's available in your
local area.
You might see something thatyou go wow, that looks pretty
cool, hadn't thought of that andthat might end up being your
community.
Number nine is maybe you'regoing through some stuff at the
moment and you know addictionissues, or you're going through

(06:04):
some personal stuff where youfeel as though you might need to
.
You know, explore, being partof a peer support group, and
this is a community of peoplethat are going through the same
sort of thing that you're goingthrough and you're there to
support each other.
And what a great community tobe, a community of people that
are going through the same sortof thing that you're going
through and you're there tosupport each other.
And what a great community tobe a part of and feel belonging
to.
And number 10 is that, if allof this stuff feels a little bit

(06:27):
too hard and you think I don'treally know if I'm up for this
or engaging I don't know how togo about it it you know to
navigate that maybe it's timethat you engage a mental health
professional to help you to getout there and engage with some
community in some way shape orform.
And you know, for me personally,you know I'm a member of my

(06:49):
local golf club, my car club.
I'm a member of the comedycommunity.
Obviously, I've been a comedianfor 27 years and, just talking
about that, I guarantee you,when you go out and you're part
of these communities, laughteris always something that you
will find at some point in thesecommunities when you get these
like-minded individuals togetherand you start to have some fun

(07:10):
and sharing laughter with otherpeople is so powerful for
connectedness.
And I and I'm also a member of,obviously, the mental health
and suicide prevention community, which I'm incredibly proud of
to be a part of this community.
So, as always, my friends, youmatter, you really do so.
Be kind to yourself and be kindto those around you.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
Thank you for listening.
The information contained inthis podcast is for educational
and entertainment purposes.
It is not intended, nor shouldit ever, replace advice received
from a physician or mentalhealth professional.
Want more info?
Visit thelaughtercliniccomau.
If you enjoyed the episode,please share and subscribe.
Thanks again for listening tothe Laughter Clinic Podcast with

(07:54):
your host, mark mcconville.