Blog Posts
The Value of Our Relationships
Hey friends, welcome back to the blog. Today I want to talk about relationships and the value of having support in our lives. I read something recently that said “loneliness is a major health risk. A recent study found that having just one quality conversation each day can boost happiness, lower stress, and reduce anxiety.“ Something that comes up often in therapy is that the people who tend to be more resilient, manage conflict and communication, learn and maintain boundaries, and feel less lonely overall are the people that have supportive relationships. This doesn’t mean every relationship has to be supportive but that there is enough support in your life to have needs met. In a previous blog post I talked about what I refer to as the relationship bullseye”. If you haven’t read that post I encourage you to go back and read it.
Relationships are considered extremely significant to life. They can contribute to overall well-being. Strong connections with others can impact mental health, resilience, and even physical health. Relationships can help us feel more meaning and purpose in life. They can help us feel more connected and less lonely.
Relationships can also be a source of trauma, lack of trust, feeling lonely and disconnected. Just as they have the capacity to improve overall well being, they also have the capacity to hurt overall well being and functioning. There are some common things I hear in therapy about the negative impact relationships can have on people’s lives.
1. Not feeling valued. this may look like “I am not important” and “not worth spending time with.”
2. Not feeling good enough. It can feel at times that because of the actions of others, including caregivers, friends, and other relationships that it must mean the person isn’t enough.
3. Abandonment concerns. This comes up for people who feel like relationships in their life have never been consistent. This can include people being in and out of their life or losing friends or relationships unexpectedly.
4. Low self esteem. This may include feeling like people don’t like them or they have to “people please” to keep relationships.
These are just a few examples that can come up about the negative impact relationships can have on people. Let’s talk about areas we can focus on to have meaningful relationships that help improve our overall well-being.
1. Emotional support: having friendships and relationships that are supportive can help boost self esteem, help people feel less alone, and provide a safe space for you to be yourself. Being able to be genuine and authentic helps strengthen relationships with yourself and others.
2. Health and stress relief: having friends and good relationships can help you live a healthier life. Having friends and a support system can help manage stress which can help support the immune system.
3. Support during hard times: one thing I have learned over this last year is the quality of the relationships based on the hard times. The people who check in and are there when life is hard. Having supportive relationships can help when getting through the hard times.
4. Happiness and fun: people with strong friendships and happy relationships are able to enjoy stress relief with these relationships, people you can laugh with, people that support you and help you feel better about yourself.
5. Communication and connection: people we have strong relationships with are usually people we can talk to, make it easier to manage conflict when it arises, and help us feel connected.
Having supportive relationships holds a lot of value and can be good for our overall well-being, health, and self worth.
Thanks for reading, until next time. Emilie Barragan, LCSW
“Tackling emotional and physical pain.” – Therapeuo Health