Image credit: Komal Gahir via Unsplash
Wishing you all a happy Valentine’s Day from OneNature!
Throughout our lives, our relationships with others play a significant role in our mood and well-being. Healthy relationships can help alleviate anxiety and depression, increase self-esteem, and increase empathy towards others. Maintaining healthy relationships in our lives is one of the most important ways to create a happy and fulfilling life.
Being in a successful romantic relationship is associated with greater subjective happiness and enhances perceived subjective pleasure through positive experiences. Romantic relationships play a vital role in the development of adolescents and young adults and contribute to the development of a positive self-concept and greater social integration. When adolescents and young adults establish and maintain successful romantic relationships early on, positive effects continue in later stages of life.
A romantic relationship isn’t the only vital bond in one’s life. Solid and healthy friendships are a fundamental component of living a happy and healthy life. Platonic friendships provide many benefits, including increasing one’s sense of purpose and belonging, increasing happiness while reducing stress, and improving self-confidence and self-worth. In times of need, it’s important to have a strong support system that one can fall back on. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that our perception of challenges changes when we feel that we have a strong social support system. When we are able to seek assistance and encouragement from friends and family, our issues don’t seem as daunting. Researchers say that consistent social support is a key factor in feeling optimistic and increasing satisfaction with life. This can help to lessen the risk of depression.
Social connectedness not only positively impacts one another, but it also forges happy, productive communities, benefiting society as a whole. A socially connected community is one where everyone involved feels a sense of belongingness. The reverse is true as well. Being a part of a community also has a positive effect on one’s mental health and well-being. In a study done in Australia, researchers found that increasing community participation by just 10% reduced the rates of violent crimes by 1.9%. In the absence of a social support system, having negative thoughts and feelings is five times more likely. Social participation and connecting with your community can help in handling the stress of one’s everyday life.
Similar to humans, animals have special bonds with one another. Some animals have monogamous lifelong partnerships with one another. Penguins, for example, mate for life. They fall in love and once they have chosen their lifelong mate, sift through stones to find the perfect pebble to use to propose to their partner. An award-winning photograph featured two penguins comforting one another after recently losing their respective mates. While most animals’ relationships don’t operate exactly like penguins, many animals interact with one another in a way that indicates they have friendships and relationships.
OneNature knows that feeling our connection to each other, animals and the planet is a crucial part of a happy and sustainable life for all beings.
Sources:
Strong relationships, strong health
Well-Being and Romantic Relationships: A Systematic Review in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood
Why Friends Make Us Happier, Healthier People
Widowed penguins hug in award-winning photo