Earlsdon Chronicles: Social ecology, norms and adjusting to south Coventry.

Having done a miniscule amount of reporting for the Earlsdon ECHO (if you fancy trying community journalism then this really isn't a bad place to start) I did wonder why everyone in the organisation did appear to look a little or a lot like people I already know, which connected to feelings of paranoia. It did surprise me until I started a closer comparison of individuals and realised that they only bear a superficial resemblance to each. As this was the case I imagine that there was nothing really to have been concerned about. There was no real conspiracy they were involved in.

If someone is paranoid it may be the type of thing that they would suggest and it should be challenged - norms should be set by a group and we are social animals who would normally function better when we have agreed to work collectively in a particular way, including discussing issues which may appear to be of a particular relevance to one individual and of no importance to anyone else. This 'functioning correctly' by modifying and respecting social norms is I guess partly what social ecological perspectives may suggest as being appropriate. If this is the case, bearing in mind the processes that could lead to greater stability, and reduced chances of schizophrenia, it would make sense to outline how people adjust to asylum seekers and within processes of citizenship and with anyone who may be in an especially high risk category of developing mental health problems.

This aside for a moment – do they look alike to you? Do individuals who don’t ask quite basic questions to establish trust end up feeling paranoid? Where do most people’s social norms stop on this – should we allow this to take place if it doesn’t take an excessive amount of time? Also, I find that there are issues which may be relevant to asylum seekers which have parallel the issues that may underlie the mental health problems that asylum seekers and immigrants may experience. For a while language didn’t feel fully connected to the purposes that it is intended for one becomes at sea with the community around. If this is the case then it will become a question of connecting to language to the same degree that everyone else in the social groups that you are part of to normalise – along with other forms of communication. This really does require some development as a research area, but there could be greater awareness of what means of communication are used and what degree of allowance can be made for the differences in language use that individuals have, that leave them accepted within social groups. This may contribute to the development of qualifications which may have health promoting benefits.