Life is a lot more than setting career goals, work hard, make money and go out to enjoy yourself once in a while. Being socially wired, it is also important to regularly assess the state of our relationships. Asking the following questions could help you: Do I have the social support I need? How would everyone benefit if I deepened my existing relationships? How could I open bigger doors, and build new and larger networks?
If you find yourself struggling with impostor syndrome in your job, or you just want to refresh your relationships, or even meet new people you need to get more proactive. If you are willing to give and get more emotional support, it could not only benefit the quality of your life but would add more good times to it.
What Does Social Support Mean
So how do our social environments benefit our health? And what aspects of our relations are crucial to our well-being? Among the studies observing the health benefits of social networks, there is one, which examined middle-aged men over seven years. The results are astonishing. People with strong emotional and social support were less likely to die or develop illnesses than those who were lacking strong bonds.
Social support requires that the individual has helpful family members and friends to turn to in times of need. You can contact these people because of various needs, such as spending time together, needing help or advice, or just sharing and discussing something. These relationships have a priceless value during stressful times or even crises. By caring about you, they can give you the strength to carry on in everyday life, and when they need it, you can also support them.
Research has shown that poor social support can lead to depression and feeling lonely, with a brain-altering effect that can contribute to overconsuming alcohol or even drugs, can cause various diseases, and lead to suicide in the worst case. But the good news is that by working on the social world surrounding you, you can prevent or reverse any of these. And you shouldn’t let the negative things that you can alter allow to take over your happiness!
The Impact of Our Social Networks
Your social support can provide the psychological and material resources you need to cope in everyday life, and with stressful situations. It can come in many forms, including emotional or mental support, or even help with daily tasks or financial matters in case of need. At the giving or receiving end can be family, friends, or others in your close social networks, such as acquaintances you socialize with or neighbors. You should both support each other in need.
When you participate in social interactions, they require intimacy, emotions, and give you a sense of belonging to various social groups. Connecting healthily with family, through a romantic relationship, business partnership, social circles, or any regular community you are a member of can protect you against poor health, and social problems. How can the various kinds of support help you evolve?
The Types of Social Support
Emotional support can be very helpful when you feel under the weather and need someone to listen to or even a shoulder to cry on.Practicing self-care with in yourself is the frist step into recovery. Such aid can be invaluable when you cannot share your problems with many people or are going through a tough period. You receive instrumental support when others help you out with physical needs, like going to the shop when you aren’t well or giving you a ride. Lastly, you can also get informational support in the form of advice, guidance and mentoring, to help you make big decisions.
The sooner the support comes, especially in challenging times, the better. As people are preoccupied with their problems these days, you have to be willing to ask for help when you need it. By doing so, you can feel less anxious emotionally, get the piece of information you miss to make a good decision, or be less anxious or stressed about something that’s bothering you. The more solid the support system you build, the better chances you have to get the specific support you need.
People in your circles can provide you different kinds of support, some of them can give all the types. For instance, your teacher or mentor might support you through information or mentoring. Your significant other and family members should support you best emotionally. And with your friends, you can charge each other’s batteries by sharing good times and a laugh, and add to each other by exchanging your life or travel experiences.
Our Choices Based on Socializing
Socializing directly influences our behavior and health choices. It can affect our diet, exercising, and even our bad habits, like smoking, drinking too much, and using illegal substances. Try to make sure that people who support you benefit your health and life. One of the best health benefits of being surrounded by people who care is the reduced levels of stress. This increases your immunity against diseases and can help you fight stress more.It iis recommendable to find your wellness type.
According to research a strong support system also helps you better deal with trauma-based disorders such as PTSD or CPTSD. Social contacts can also help you with motivation, and common goals like losing weight, quitting smoking or overcoming psychological difficulties. It’s easier to achieve common goals together with others than alone.
We tend to lose our work-life balance sometimes, but you shouldn’t allow this to dominate your life. Strive to quickly recognize your patterns instead. By also investing enough in your relationships, you will achieve more harmony, balance, and a blissful foundation for your future. And if keeping your old friends, or finding new ones is challenging to you, a mental help professional could help you realize your relationship goals to have the social support you need.