Staying Social with Respiratory Disease
Why Keeping Up Your Social Life is Important
Having a respiratory disease can be challenging sometimes, and social connections are key to making respiratory management easier.
Staying connected can reduce stress and anxiety and make problems feel more manageable. Social connections also help improve your overall quality of life.
Support can come from many different people and places— including friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and your Wellinks team. Lung Health support groups and counseling can also be helpful sources of information and teach you new tools to cope with challenges.
In this Article
How to Nurture Your Connections
Here are some ways you can stay socially active and maintain strong connections:
- Reach out to your network. Friends, family, and your care team are important sources of emotional, logistical, and health support. They want to help you live your best life, so don’t be afraid to tell them when you’re struggling. And equally importantly, share with them your goals, dreams, and wins!
- Stay engaged in social activities. Book clubs, game nights, walking groups, and other social activities keep you connected to others and help you prioritize time for fun.
- If you love to travel, keep traveling! You can still take vacations and trips to see faraway friends and family with respiratory disease, even if you wear oxygen. There are some tips on how to travel with oxygen in the section below.
- Join a COPD support group. Support groups are a great way to meet people and learn from those who are in a similar situation. Wellinks’ Health Link sessions are a good resource. The COPD Foundation and American Lung Association also run support groups, and you may find other community groups in your area.
Traveling with Oxygen
If you wear oxygen, you can still travel—for vacation, to visit family and friends, and even to take short trips to the grocery store or shopping mall.
If you’re going on a longer trip, be sure to tell your oxygen supplier, travel provider, and healthcare provider about your plans. Your oxygen supplier can send oxygen to your destination(s), and your travel provider will tell you what equipment you’re allowed to travel with. For example, you can’t bring oxygen tanks on an airplane, but you can bring some approved portable oxygen concentrators.
Your healthcare provider will give you specific instructions on when to take your oxygen and can give you prescriptions for antibiotics, corticosteroids, or other medications.
When planning for shorter trips—like to the mall, movies, or grocery store— make sure you bring enough oxygen with you and backup batteries, just in case. Your healthcare provider will tell you how much oxygen you need when doing different activities.
Socializing Safely
Another important aspect of engaging in social activities is maintaining good hygiene. Gathering in bigger groups can increase the chance of catching a virus, especially during times of the year when respiratory illnesses are more common.
Make sure to wash your hands regularly, or use hand sanitizer, especially before touching your face or oxygen equipment. Consider rescheduling meetups with friends or family if someone is sick. If you don’t feel comfortable joining a group in person, ask if you can participate online instead.
Your COPD Action Plan is also an important resource to help you keep track of your condition and triggers. This information can help you plan activities for when you feel well.
What You Can Do Today
There are a few simple steps you can take today to help you feel more connected:
- Call a friend or family member.
- Reach out to an online support group. The COPD Foundation and American Lung Association run COPD support groups, and you may find others in your community.
- Find a local activity that you may feel comfortable doing, like playing bridge, taking an art class, or joining a book group, etc.
- Participate in one of Wellinks’ Learn sessions! These are great opportunities to not only learn more about managing your lung health, but to meet others who are in a similar situation. Wellinks Learn is held twice a week; you can register here.
More Resources Section
COPD Foundation’s 360 Social online support group: https://www.copdfoundation.org/COPD360social/Community/Get-Involved.aspx
American Lung Association’s Better Breathers Club support group: https://www.lung.org/help-support/better-breathers-club#:~:text=Better%20Breathers%20Club%20meetings%20offer,quality%20of%20life%20you%20can.