How relationships affect health
You will experience many different types of relationships throughout your life. A few essential relationships — your family, romantic partner, close friends — probably come to mind. However, there are also those outside of your most “important” connections, for example, your coworkers or acquaintances. Think also about those who affect you — good or bad — and relationships that seem insignificant. Even those who you might only exchange pleasantries with or don’t see so often. All of these relationships can impact your mental and physical wellbeing.
The health benefits of relationships
A relationship is any connection between two people; it can be either positive or negative. This depends on the quality and frequency of contact you have with that person i.e. how does that relationship make you feel and how often do you interact with that person. Perhaps it is an energising and invigorating relationship where you look forward to seeing that person and they give you a boost of good energy, whether or not you see them very often. This positive relationship enriches your life and makes you feel better than you would feel if you were alone.
There are many advantages to this type of relationship, especially for your mental health. Lower levels of anxiety and depression, as well as higher self-esteem and more empathy have been recognised as just some of these benefits. This in turn can make you feel more positive, content and experience greater levels of happiness in your life. The knock-on effect is this vibrant feeling that others enjoy when they’re around you, so much so, they likely want to spend more time with you. This makes you less likely to experience loneliness, allowing you to feel more satisfied with your life. Solid relationships and social connections can also help to strengthen your immune system, reducing inflammation and enhancing your ability to fight off and recover from disease. This is down to your stress levels being lower.
Relationships that are toxic
On the contrary, some relationships can be depleting, whereby you feel frustration, anxiety or disrespected. It can be a draining and negative relationship that makes you feel inferior or more disconnected than you would feel if you were alone. Some might also consider these to be toxic relationships whereby your emotional, physical or psychological wellbeing is potentially undermined or threatened in some way. Sometimes all parties in a relationship can contribute to this toxicity, unintentionally or intentionally, through negativity, unkindness, insecurity and being overly critical. In other cases, it may simply be by one person in a relationship that can behave in these ways. Unfortunately, such toxic relationships can be stressful and even abusive if boundaries are not put in place to protect yourself.
Relationships can change over time and the foundation to any healthy relationship is communication, honesty and trust. A relationship is mutually beneficial and all individuals should engage in and work towards creating a strong, stable relationship that is enriching and invigorating for all involved - it’s about give and take.