Supportive Relationships
Once the excitement of the holiday season is over and life has slipped back into its normal rhythm, many of us discover that we are having difficulty balancing our time between work, family, friends, and other obligations. It is important to remember that supportive relationships are an important part of our mental health.
Too often, people focus on mental illness when they discuss mental health. However, your mental health is much more than depression, anxiety, etc. It is your overall emotional and mental state, which includes both positive and negative elements. In many circumstances, positive mental health factors such as resiliency, curiosity, and self-worth can help you cope with adversity and mental illness.
Remember: YOU first! Your most critical relationship is with yourself. Learning to love yourself, to be honest, to clearly communicate your needs, and to take care of yourself are all very important. Understanding yourself will also benefit your relationships with other people.
YOU + PEOPLE: The health of our relationships with other people is a balance of understanding your own needs and seeing the other person for who they are, not who you want them to be.
Overwhelming research suggests that people with strong, supportive relationships live healthier, longer lives. Studies show that people with healthy relationships heal more quickly, have lower blood pressure, are less likely to experience a relapse in depression, and are less anxious. And don’t limit your peer group to your family and existing friends. You might find meaningful relationships and emotional support from close work colleagues, clergy members, neighbors, and others in your community.
Healthy social relationships foster mental health in several ways:
They help provide purpose and meaning.
They can encourage positive health behaviors.
They can help relieve stress and assist you with processing your emotions, particularly if the relationship is with a good, empathetic listener.
They can increase your energy and release tension, especially when engaging in activities with friends.
Unhealthy relationships, on the other hand, can quickly become a stressor or mental illness trigger. For this reason, it’s important to pursue relationships with people who encourage healthy habits and provide emotional support.
Healthy relationships involve honesty, trust, respect and open communication between partners and they take effort and compromise from both people. There is no imbalance of power. Partners respect each other's independence, make their own choices without fear of retribution or retaliation, and make major decisions together.
Being in a relationship can feel wonderful and has important health benefits. But, everyone also needs time to take care of themselves. Spending time with friends, taking time to enjoy your own company, getting things that need to be attended to done, or engaging in self-care practices are important.
At the end of the day, any relationship is about developing trust and enjoying the other person’s company. What that looks like is different for everyone. But creating and maintaining healthy relationships is vital to our overall health and well-being. Healthy relationships add to our mental and physical health in many measurable ways, so it’s worth the time and effort it takes to keep them balanced and strong.
Here are four articles for further reading:
“Building and maintaining healthy relationships,” Health Direct, October 2021
“Mental Health Experts Share Their Top Relationship Advice,” McLean Harvard Medical School Affiliate, February 7, 2022
“Tips for Building a Healthy Relationship,” Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., HelpGuide.org, November 1, 2022
“Maintaining healthy relationships and mental wellbeing,” nhs.uk
