Century Park Blog

Social wellness means nurturing yourself and your relationships. It 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.

Social support enhances quality of life and provides a buffer against adverse life events. Social support can take different forms:

• Emotional (sometimes called non-tangible) support refers to the actions people take to make someone else feel cared for.
• Instrumental support refers to the physical, such as money and housekeeping.
• Informational support means providing information to help someone.

Why is Social Wellness Important?

Healthy relationships are a vital component of health. The health risks from being alone or isolated in one's life are comparable to the risks associated with cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and obesity.

Research shows that:

• People who have a strong social network tend to live longer.
• The heart and blood pressure of people with healthy relationships respond better to stress.
• Strong social networks are associated with a healthier endocrine system and healthier cardiovascular functioning.
• Healthy social networks enhance the immune system's ability to fight off infectious diseases.

Nurture Your Relationships

According to Drs. Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks, in their book Lasting Love: The 5 Secrets of Growing a Vital, Conscious Relationship, the following concepts are instrumental in attaining a healthy and lasting relationship.

• 1. Become a master of commitment. It's important to be aware of what you are committing to, so that you can realistically judge whether or not you have the capacity to follow through on the commitment.
• Make commitments you can stand by. In a relationship, it is important to be honest and empathetic to each other's feelings, hopes, and dreams.
• Break the cycle of blame and criticism. It is important to own your part in the relationship dynamics.
• It can be helpful to shift your attention away from "fixing the other person" and onto more creative expressions for resolving conflict. Shifting the focus in this way will help to inject more positive energy into the relationship.
• Become a master of verbal and nonverbal appreciation. Showing appreciation of others is critical to healthy relationships.

How Can I Grow My Social Network?

• Work out. Joining a gym or an exercise group allows you to meet new people while exercising.
• Take a walk with your pet. Starting a walking routine after dinner would not only give you another opportunity to be physically active, but it would also create more opportunities for you to meet your neighbors.
• Volunteer. Donate some of your time and hard work to a charity. You'll feel good about the cause, and you'll meet others with similar passions.
• Find others who share a hobby, such as hiking, painting, scrapbooking, running, etc.