{"id":1302,"date":"2023-05-17T10:12:35","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T14:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/its-cuthemedev1.carleton.ca\/mental-health\/?p=1302"},"modified":"2026-01-14T10:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T15:06:13","slug":"i-think-therefore-i-am-social-identity-as-a-path-to-wellness-and-recovery-a-blog-post-by-tiffany-cheng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/2023\/i-think-therefore-i-am-social-identity-as-a-path-to-wellness-and-recovery-a-blog-post-by-tiffany-cheng\/","title":{"rendered":"I Think Therefore I am: Social Identity as a Path to Wellness and Recovery. A blog post by Tiffany Cheng"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n I Think Therefore I am: Social Identity as a Path to Wellness and Recovery. A blog post by Tiffany Cheng\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

I Think Therefore I am: Social Identity as a Path to Wellness and Recovery<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Tiffany Cheng<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social support and social groups have been long integrated in the pathway to wellness and recovery. For example, you may look for \u201cgym buddies\u201d when you want to work out and no one can deny the benefits of social support when you\u2019re going through a difficult time or recovering from an illness. Johann Hari emphasises that \u201cthe opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is connection\u201d (TED, 2016, 14:21) – in that love and support are the most important aspects when helping someone who is suffering from substance use. Simply belonging to one or more social groups or networks is supportive of recovery, and this impact can be amplified if that group has social norms and attitudes that proliferate recovery. For example, in people recovering from alcohol use disorder, those who developed a relationship with a non-drinking peer were less likely to drink in a 12-month follow-up (Litt et al., 2007; 2009).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further research has extended this and examined recovery as a process of social identity change – social identities being the parts of your self-concept derived from perceived group memberships (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). The Social Identity Model of Recovery (SIMOR; Best et al., 2015) has been proposed as a pathway to recover from illnesses such as substance use disorders and eating disorders (Blond\u00e9 & Falomir-Pichester, 2021; Cunningham & Godinho, 2021; McNamara & Parsons, 2016). There has also been some preliminary research expanding its use into recovery from mood disorders (Cruwys et al., 2014). According to this model, recovering from addiction is a process of social identity change where your most dominant identity shifts from being a member of a group with norms and values revolving around substance abuse, to being a member of a group with norms and values that encourage recovery. Subsequently, the identity shift internalises these norms and values which then impact attitudes and behaviours. In other words, if being a \u201crecovering alcoholic\u201d becomes a predominant part of who you are, you will mirror the behaviours associated with this identity (i.e., abstinence). These \u201crecovery identities\u201d have had a lot of support as a pathway to recovery and have been associated with many well-being outcomes (Bathish et al., 2017). Moreover, this research brings a new meaning to Decartes\u2019 saying \u201cI think therefore I am\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This model has been primarily examined within the context of recovery from substance and behavioural addictions, but as research suggests, social identity has a clear influence on attitudes and behaviours. This model may be used to move beyond recovery and towards more proactive applications. Social identity change may be important to foster the positive attitudes and behaviours necessary to <\/span>thrive <\/span><\/i>(i.e., high emotional, psychological and social well-being) rather than <\/span>languish <\/span><\/i>(i.e., the absence of well-being; Keyes, 2002). This may be especially important for graduate students, who are more likely to experience high levels of stress and negative well-being (Allen et al., 2021). To illustrate, let\u2019s transform a <\/span>languishing graduate student<\/span><\/i> into a<\/span> thriving graduate student <\/span><\/i>using the social identity model of recovery. The social identity of a <\/span>graduate student <\/span><\/i>may be associated with positive norms (e.g., academic, high-achieving) and values (e.g., valuing high grades). As well, it can be associated with negative norms such as a high-stress life, being incredibly busy, and a fear of failure. To become a <\/span>thriving graduate student<\/span><\/i>, one could adopt more positive norms and values such as a good work-life balance, learning from feedback rather than focusing on a grade, and having a healthy way to cope with stress as well as associating with other <\/span>thriving graduate students<\/span><\/i>. Notably, the name of the social identity is immaterial but ultimately, we seek to create a new social identity and group with norms and values that emphasise <\/span>thriving <\/span><\/i>over <\/span>languishing<\/span><\/i>. Through this paradigm we can see how social identity may be used as a path to wellness as well as recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen, H. K., Barrall, A. L., Vincent, K. B., & Arria, A. M. (2021). Stress and Burnout Among Graduate Students: Moderation by Sleep Duration and Quality. <\/span>International journal of behavioral medicine, 28<\/span><\/i>(1), 21\u201328. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12529-020-09867-8<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bathish, R., Best, D., Savic, M., Beckwith, M., Mackenzie, J., & Lubman, D.I. (2017). \u201cIs it me or should my friends take the credit?\u201d The role of social networks and social identity in recovery from addiction. <\/span>Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 47<\/span><\/i>(1), 35-46. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/jasp.12420<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best, D., Beckwith, M., Haslam, C., Haslam, A. S., Jetten, J., Mawson, E., And Lubman, D I (2015). Overcoming alcohol and other drug addiction as a process of social identity transition : the social identity model of recovery (SIMOR). <\/span>Addiction Research and Theory, 24<\/span><\/i>(2), 111-123. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3109\/16066359.2015.1075980<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blond\u00e9, J., & Falomir-Pichester, J. M. (2021). Smoker Identity and resistance to antismoking campaigns The role of group entitativity. <\/span>Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24<\/span><\/i>(1), 160-176<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Cruwys, T., Haslam, S. A., Dingle, G. A., Haslam, C., & Jetten, J. (2014). Depression and Social Identity: An Integrative Review. <\/span>Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18<\/span><\/i>(3), 215\u2013238. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1088868314523839<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cunningham, J. A., & Godinho, A.(2021). Are former heavy drinkers in the UK less likely to identify as being in recovery compared to those in the USA?. <\/span>Substance Abuse, Treatment and Policy, 16<\/span><\/i>(74), 1-5.<\/span> https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s13011-021-00412-8<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Descartes, R., & Poisson, N. (1668).<\/span> Discours de la methode: Pour bien conduire sa raison, & chercher la verite\u0301 dans les sciences. Plus la dioptrique, les meteores, la mechanique, et la musique, qui sont des essais de cette methode. <\/span><\/i>Paris: Charles Angot.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keyes, C. L.M. (2002). The Mental Health Continuum: From Languishing to Flourishing in Life. <\/span>Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43<\/span><\/i>(2), 207\u2013222. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/3090197<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Litt, M. D., Kadden, R. M., Kabela-Cormier, E., & Petry, N. (2007). Changing network support for drinking: Initial findings from the Network Support Project. <\/span>Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75<\/span><\/i>(4), 542.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Litt, M. D., Kadden, R. M., Kabela-Cormier, E., & Petry, N. M. (2009). Changing network support for drinking: Network Support Project 2-year follow-up. <\/span>Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77<\/span><\/i>(2), 229-242<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

McNamara, N., & Parsons, H. (2016). \u201cEveryone here wants everyone else to get better\u201d: The role of social identity in eating disorder recovery. <\/span>British Journal of Social Psychology, 55<\/span><\/i>(4), 662\u2013680. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/bjso.12161<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C. (1979). <\/span>An integrative theory of intergroup conflict<\/span><\/i>. In W.G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33\u201347). Monterey, CA: Brooks\/Cole.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TED. (2015, July 9).<\/span> Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong | Johann Hari <\/span><\/i>[Video]. YouTube. <\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PY9DcIMGxMs&t=69s&ab_channel=TED<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I Think Therefore I am: Social Identity as a Path to Wellness and Recovery By Tiffany Cheng Social support and social groups have been long integrated in the pathway to wellness and recovery. For example, you may look for \u201cgym buddies\u201d when you want to work out and no one can deny the benefits of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grad-student-blogs"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1302"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1304,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1302\/revisions\/1304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}