It’s clichéd to say that time is flying but that’s exactly what this year feels like. It’s nearly the end of May, and I have been busy wrapping up in the clinic and preparing for the imminent arrival of the Buckman baby twins.

I have found that heading into maternity to be a lovely period of time. Over the last few weeks, Hayden and I have been absolutely inundated with advice, well wishes and support. I have been spending time with the patients that I have seen regularly over the past few years having one ‘last’ catch up session, at least for now. I have thoroughly enjoyed this, but also felt twinges of sadness saying goodbye to them. The reason I feel this conflict is because of the genuine care and love I feel from our patients at Physique and the sadness that I will miss seeing them every day.
The patients and community at Physique, which extends into the greater Tamborine Mountain community is extremely special, and yes, I know saying our local community is special is another cliché. Going into new parenthood with the added uncertainty of two babies has been made that much smoother by the comfort of this community and the assurance and contentment that the community around us have got us covered – from patients who describe themselves as our ‘grandparents’, to those we stop to talk to at the coffee shop, to the fellow Physique team members we consider our family. The joy of interacting with these people provides a sense of calm and certainty, that on the Mountain we have a community that we can rely on in the certain challenging days ahead.
I was recently doing some reading about how rare such communities are. In the 1980’s social scientists investigated social networks: they found the average person had three close friends whom they could rely on in a crisis. This study was repeated in 2004 and the average number of close friends a person had to rely on was zero. Social isolation and disconnected communities actually becomes a significant health issue. Loneliness and social isolation are one of the most important health issues we are currently facing in Australia and is predicted to be the next public health epidemic of the 21st century. A need for meaningful relationships and a connection to community is a need intrinsically built into our systems, just like hunger or thirst. Chronic loneliness is literally a physical stress on the body and has been linked to premature death, poor physical and mental health, the development of dementia, poor sleep, high blood pressure, poorer immune function and general dissatisfaction with life. It takes the meaning of the ‘biopsychosocial’ approach to healthcare to a new level.
At Physique, I am so proud we can provide a type of community and meaningful relationships for our patients. I know we have people that rely on us for their social contact, those who use our classes to get out of the house and catch up with their friends and those who use physiotherapists to hold them accountable to their health goals. Neil and Bec’s vision, and the vision we have all adopted is to provide ‘true wellness’ to the community by providing the greatest care with enduring, client-centred health solutions to all community members. This quite clearly extends further than purely physical health. It is a community Hayden and I will be relying on heavily over the next few years and one I hope you will access when you need it as well.
Jess Stinson