Connecting With The Right People For Mental Well-Being

Humans are social animals, and different relations across their life surround them. Some have been with them since their birth, like Parents, siblings, and extended family relatives. In addition to this, they make some relations during their life journey. Some stay strong and immortal. But some comes and go. And both make an impact on an individual and their mental health. People who are socially connected with family, friends are happier, healthier, and live longer with fewer mental health problems than those who are less connected. At the same time, we need to understand that it's not about the quantity but about the quality, which matters. Because being in a toxic or conflict relation does more damage than being alone. 

We should always concentrate on having and maintaining a healthy relationship because if we don't import good and healthy relations, it will lead to loneliness, and long-term loneliness leads to various mental health problems. 

Research shows that approximately 86.7% of people have someone close on whom they can rely during stress, e.g., family, friends, spouse, relatives.  But when they actually need support, they can't have faith in anyone of them. And the main reason for this is the society we live in. It isn't easy to find a person in whom one can have faith blindly. 

Long back in 1938, Harvard had conducted a study on human development with more than 700 respondents with an objective" what makes us happy ?" The Study has explored every part like - who we are, from physical and psychological traits to social life and IQ, to learn how to flourish. The findings of this study were published in a Book - Triumphs of Experience. The study results say that " Happiness and Health are not a result of wealth, fame or working hard. Instead, it comes from our relations."

Relationships across life stages

Children It is the stage where we learn from our parents and elders. And we mostly mimic their behavior. It helps us build our understanding of any relations, and it creates a base on which we build our relations with others in the future. Children's relationship with parents and guardians is a stepping stone for their future behavior and relations with others. Harmony at home is essential because higher mental health problems such as depression and anxiety correlate with loneliness, isolation, and rejection during adolescence. 

Adulthood is the most crucial time for anyone in his entire life. Because this is the time when we build our career, family, friends, move out of our comfort zone to earn a livelihood, and this is the time when one can get into loneliness and depression because of rejections in life and career. That's why maintaining a good and healthy relationship is really important for our mental health. 

A stable relationship has a direct correlation with both mental and physical health and vice-versa. 

Later Life During this stage of life, one's responsibility shifts from carer to grandparents, from salaried person to pensioner, and these changes come with a lot of impact on mental health. During this time, close relatives, family, and stable relationships help cope with such situations easily. 

While our relationships at different stages of life impact our mental health, similarly, our mental health also impacts our relations with others, like how we connect, behave, and continue with a specific relationship. There are certain things which we can do to have healthy relations and good mental health - 

1- Give time- spend quality time with family and friends

2- Be present- Be present in a moment you are in. It would help if you did not mix work and family. 

3- Listen- Listen without judgment and understand what they need at this moment. 

4- Be listened to - share what is going in your thought, feelings and get support if required.

5- Recognise unhealthy relationships- always have positive people and those who keep motivating you. Recognize people and maintain distance from them actually helps in having a balanced life with good mental health. 

"As you remove toxic people from your life, you free up space and emotional energy for positive, healthy relationships, John Mark Green."