Paying attention to your social wellness means interacting and forming meaningful relationships with others. Social wellness is defined as being aware of, actively interacting with, and feeling connected with the people in your community. It is about nurturing yourself and your relationships. Social wellness means giving and receiving social support—ensuring that you have friends and other people, including family, to turn to in times of need or crisis to give you a broader focus and positive self-image.
Relationships are vital to our social well-being. The nature of all relationships is that they are a living and dynamic aspect of our lives, and as such, require attention and care. Having a supportive social network allows you to develop assertive skills and become comfortable with who you are in social situations. Surrounding yourself with a positive social network increases your self-esteem. Having a solid social support system is associated with positive health benefits, such as a strengthened immune system and cardiovascular functioning. Social wellness enables you to create boundaries that encourage communication, trust, and conflict management. Having good social wellness is critical to building emotional resilience.
In order to benefit from strong connections with others, you should take charge of your relationships and put in the time and energy you would any other aspect of your well-being. This means nurturing yourself and your relationships.
Here are a few ways to improve your social wellness:
- Take care of yourself: Building relationships with others don’t begin until you create a healthy relationship with your body and mind. Get to know yourself, give your body what it needs, and destress from the day-to-day.
- Reach out and offer your friendship: The first step to building a relationship and developing it into a support system is reaching out and offering your friendship. There are more ways to expose yourself to new people–traveling, volunteering, joining conversations, etc.
- Nurture your relationships: Relationships can fade in and out when nobody makes an effort to keep them going. Nurture your relationships by making time, planning meetups, and committing to them. There are big and small opportunities to nurture your relationships, and doing so improves your social wellness and, in turn, your mental health.
Join our LIVE WELL with EIGHT at STATE Program, track and learn more about your social wellness this month.
Visit our LIVE WELL Vocational Wellness page for more resources.
