We crave to feel connected.
Research has proven that connection with others is good for our mood and even physical health. Humans are, without a doubt, social creatures. A study by Mental Health America found that 71% of people surveyed turned to friends or family in times of stress. We crave to feel connected.
For humans, connection occurs when you receive concrete help, emotional support, perspective, advice, and/or validation. Concrete help happens when your community helps with a practical activity like making sure the bus picks up your children for school. Emotional support often comes through empathy. Having someone in your life that can relate and provide their presence through a tough season is one way that connection is established or strengthened. Perspective comes when someone helps you see the bigger picture of any given situation or even a different angle. If you are the parent of teenagers, it is easy to get locked into tunnel vision and lose sight of the future. A connection is created and strengthened when someone looks at your situation and reminds you that your child will not be a teenager forever and there is often a larger, more important lesson that can be taught through their experiences. Perspective and advice are similar to each other, but not the same. Advice is practical suggestions and tips that can help improve a situation. Advice typically comes after emotional support and perspective and gives the receiver of these connective offerings the next steps to continue to grow. Lastly, validation is when you join others in a similar activity. If you enjoy scenic drives on the weekend, connecting with other people that also enjoy a peaceful trip can help develop connectivity around an activity.
Stress leads to a variety of health issues including high blood pressure, headaches, and heart arrhythmia. When you spend time with your family and friends, you can reduce stress and these stress-related health issues. Spending quality time with your family and friends can also mitigate the use of unhealthy stress coping mechanisms such as binge eating or smoking. A 9-year study revealed that people who lack social ties were about 3 times more likely to die during that study period than those who have strong relationships with their friends and family. Quality time with friends and family results in an influence on each other’s lifestyle behaviors. Your loved ones can encourage positive behaviors like exercise and healthy eating while discouraging negative behaviors like improper drug use. Connecting with positive relationships can help you make better choices and increase your mental and physical health. Face-to-face contact can reduce the risk of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. As you navigate troubling times, surrounding yourself with a strong network of positive family and friends can help improve your mental health.
JabberYak helps cultivate these strong relationships by providing the tools for people to easily network at your next event! To learn more about how JabberYak can be used to develop a connection with others, visit our website at https://www.jabberyak.com/