by Dr. Marge Blaine
Most of us spend much of our lives in groups, from the first group, the family, to groups at school, in houses of worship and at the workplace. Later we join groups for various reasons. We join support groups to deal with grief or for help in battling illness. Parents whose children have been diagnosed with learning disabilities or childhood diabetes may join a group composed of other parents with the same concerns. Others find Alcoholics Anonymous or Overeaters Anonymous of help in battling cravings and addictions. In such groups people gain support from others facing the same problems. Other groups, such as therapy groups, have no fixed agenda.
In groups, members learn to communicate with others on an emotional level. They learn to get in touch with their feelings and acquire new ways of relating to others. Group members become able to share thoughts and feelings within a supportive environment. Through this process individuals can gain in self-esteem and grow, encouraged by the positive feelings engendered by the group and its members.
One man, in a group composed of people in their seventies, eighties, and nineties, for example, was able to complete an art project he'd begun and abandoned fifty years earlier. He spoke of his group as a place to find a new beginning.
Being in a group can be an exciting, enriching, and stimulating experience.