A saying goes that a sweet friendship refreshes the soul; I couldn’t agree more. Let us examine a practical example to help drive the point home. Have you noticed how much easier it is to maintain a jovial mood even when things aren’t good when you are with your friends. You could be lost in deep thought but they moment they come in, you forget about whatever was troubling you. In line with all this, it is important to cultivate healthy and meaningful friendships with other people as part of the project towards wellness.
A lot is happening in the world today, and with challenges like racial discrimination, it can be easy to sink into mental health challenges. The first-paced world encourages every person to try and keep up lest they fail. In pursuit of all that, it is incredibly easy to neglect social aspects that contribute to mental wellness in ways that nothing else can do. It is almost definite that the greater percentage of people reading this article, perhaps you included, are guilty of neglecting relationships and friendships in pursuit of other success-related things. Let’s look at the importance of healthy relationships/ friendships.
Encourages open-mindedness
When you are surrounded by healthy people, you become more open-minded because of your ability to endorse different thoughts and opinions. You begin to see life from different perspectives rather than just your own, and the pressure gets off you. Healthy friendships reduce the likeliness of depression and other mental health issues. There is power in great minds brought together!
Emotional support
Healthy relationships mean you will always have someone for emotional support. They may not have all the solutions to the problems you face, but you’ll never have to face challenges alone. When you have to face every obstacle alone, it can be both mentally and psychologically draining. A problem shared is a problem half solved, isn’t it?
Building confidence
When people, hold protests to push for what they believe in collectively, they are empowered and each person garners confidence they usually wouldn’t portray if they were alone. In the same way, having healthy relationships builds your confidence and gives you the grit to tackle tough times. It is satisfying to be able to look around a see a team of people cheering you on even when you have to handle the mess yourself.
Give a sense of belonging
One of the common narratives for people that go into depression is that they just don’t feel like they belong. We are social beings made to interact with each other. Having healthy relationships should help in breaking that feeling of loneliness and not belonging.
Stress reduction
We all appreciate having that one person we can go and vent to after a rough day at work. When you share your feelings and experiences with someone that close, you prevent mounting of pressure and avoid things like stress disorders.
With all this in mind, we hope you build healthy relationships with people so you both help each other stay in good state of mental health. Whether you are introverted or extroverted, relationships are vital for mental health maintenance.
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