July 17th, 2024

Social Wellness Month- Celebrating The Importance of Connections

Social Wellness Month is here, reminding us all about the importance of healthy social connections which are beneficial for not only our mental health, but physical health. Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” included the concept of social connection in the “love and belonging” stage, this gives us a sense of connectiveness, a feeling of belonging and the need for interpersonal relationships. Many studies have been done over the years but in 2015, Dr. Holt-Lunstad collaborated with other researchers and included 3.4 million participants in a study to examine the association between loneliness, social isolation and mortality risk. This very large study found loneliness was associated with a 26% increase in the risk of premature death, social isolation with a 29% increase, and living alone with a staggering 32% escalation in mortality risk. (1)

Can you imagine this study being done now, after the height of the COVID pandemic? Forbes Health wanted to know just this in 2022 when they polled 2,000 participants. They found that more than half of the participants (59%) stated it was harder to form relationships since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this same study it found 56% of people feel more isolated since the onset of the pandemic, and 29% report feeling more depressed. (2)

On the other side of the coin, we may forget that the research supports all of the advantages of having a healthy social support in your life. Berkley University reports that studies show participants of those studies who have a healthy support group have reported to be happier, felt a strong purpose in life, hold higher levels of self-efficacy, reduced risk of suicide, and have a better recovery from life’s ups and downs. (3) Simply said, healthy friendships and relationships are important to personal health in general, and provide a sense of support which is critical to personal mental and physical health.

Ways to Improve Your Social Wellness

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a “wellness toolkit” on this and I found it to have valuable ideas on positive social habits you can practice or try to build healthy support systems.

Make Connections

Some ways to meet people to make connections could be:

Join a group focused on a favorite hobby or a hobby you would like to try

Try joining a class such as yoga, tai chi or new physical activity

Help at a community garden or park

Volunteer at a library, school or hospital

Travel to different places and meet new people

Build Healthy Relationships

Share your feelings honestly

Ask for what you need from others

Listen to others without judgement or blame showing that you are caring and empathetic

Disagree with eachother respectfully

Avoid being overly critical or having angry outbursts

Expect others to treat you with respect and honesty in return

Compromise and find agreements that work for everyone

Set boundaries, it’s okay to say no

Learn the differences between healthy, unhealthy and abusive ways of relating with others (4)

Research and Resources

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25910392

https://www.forbes.com/health/mind-social-anxiety-since-covid-survey

https://greatergood.berkley.edu/article/item/four_ways_social_support_makes_you_more_resilient

https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/health-info/wellness-toolkits/social-wellness-checklist-3.pdf