The Importance of Social Relationships in the Quest of Achieving Healthy Life Balance: A Special Edition

A group of women catching up over a spa day!

Most recently, I had a conversation with a mother navigating the workforce, about achieving healthy work-life balance, outside of work to maintain healthy social relationships. Although, our over-arching goal is not centered around romantic relationships, it’s important discuss relationship types and their critical role in everything we do. Healthy relationships, albeit friendships, romantic relationships, colleagues, or with family, play an important role in the social aspects required to thrive in modern society. Not to mention, how we show up and how we communicate with those we care about is important to our internal mental and physical health.

In this post, we’ll touch on the importance of social relationships. We’ll also discuss some important things to consider when trying to maintain a social presence and show up for others even when you feel you cannot.

Social Relationships Defined

Before we begin, let's first take a moment to discuss the several types of relationships that exist. The Cambridge Dictionary defines relationships as, "The way two or more people are connected; or the way they behave towards one another". Merriam, also defines relationships as, "A state of affairs existing between those having relations or dealings". We can then simplify this into relationships equating to the type of dealings or the way we deal with a single or group of individuals. Just as with anything else, each type of relationship we have will require a different set of requirements and level of delicacy. Let's take a look at the various types of relationships that exist.

Acquaintances

Acquaintances are the relationships that we foster through simple communication. It's not necessarily a friend, just something that you do or have socialized with. The conversation is typically surface level, which does not equate to it being meaningless, it simply requires associations and simple communication for some intended reason.

Friends

The friend title can sometimes be used a bit loosely, therefore it is important to understand what friend means to each individual. You'll also here some folks follow a hierarchy of associate, friend, bestfriend, sister/brother. This is relevant to the individual or group. However, friends are typically your go-to outside of your family. These are the individuals who spend time with on the phone, you hang out with, and you are able to genuinely confide in.

Family

By definition, family are those we share the same bloodline with. As with any relationship, this relationship dynamic can be impacted by various events. In some occassions, you'll hear individuals refer to close friends as family and relative to place emphasis on the depth of the relationship. There's no need to dive into a family tree here, family is line of individuals you were born into, and of which we sometimes personally extend titles to friends that mean something to us.

Romantic Partners

Romantic partners are the prospects you are assessing to go through life with. These relationships are created with the hopes of resulting in marriage and a family, providing a more formal title and invitation into your own family. Within romantic partnerships, you'll experience different types of relationships that are not similar to that of the traditional sense. We are not here to judge anyone for their personal choice, all are welcome, while being comfortable with structured dialogue clarifies various things for folks. Romantic partners can fall into a few of the following types of relationships:

Platonic Relationships

Platonic relationships typically include a level of initimacy and vulnerabilty that you would see from a couple. However, they are not a couple and these relationships do not include sexual or physical aspects to them. Many individuals frown upon close relationships between men and women. However, think back to your college days of that man or woman that everyone thought was dating, because they were too close to be true ... and they looked good together. Yes, sincere platonic relationships exist between the opposite sex, and is a great example for this category.

Casual Relationships

We can compare casual relationships to that initial stage of dating, without the requirements you'd expect from someone you're dating or the amount of communication necessary in the dating stage. These relationships can often become ambiguous and confusing if effective communication is not in place, making it the perfect example for this topic of discussion, related to communicating effectively.

Dating Relationships

Dating relationships are those that are genuinely getting to know one another, dedicating time to spend, communicate, and get to know another person. This type of relationship is used to determine whether or not there is compatibility and alignment with one another to enter into a more committed relationship. Even in committed relationships, there are types of committed relationships.

Monogamous

These relationships consist of two individuals who enter into a committed relationship with one another.

Polyamorous

People who agree towards maintaining more than one partner (relationship) at a time.

Open Relationships

Open relationships are those that prioritize a single relationship, while engaging with casual encounters outside of the relationship.

Nesting

This type of relationship focuses on planning a life and managing a home together, without focusing on whether or not it is the primary romantic relationship.

Asexual

This type of relationship is one where romantic feelings exist, without the requirement of sexual activity. This does not mean they do not ever want or have sexual encounters, it is not a priority similar to that in a more traditional relationship.

Long Distance

There's also long distance relationships. This is typically seen with individuals who may have to are for a loved one, or are focused on their career. They reside in two different areas but commit to one another, upon agreed terms.

It's important to understand that even when individuals are clear on the type of relationship, we also need to assess whether or not that type of relationship is healthy or toxic to your personal lifestyle. More importantly, is assessing what we need to achieve a healthy relationship to ensure that we can communicate this and our deliverables to determine alignment with the ideal partner. Let's dive further into the impact negative relationships can have on us and what we can do to maintain and achieve healthy relationships.

The Impact of Social Relationships on Mental Health

In a study of data from Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, it was concluded that, "High stressful life events and social strain were each associated with higher CHD risk. Job strain and social strain work synergistically to increase CHD risk". Meaning, ineffectively managing or maintaining healthy relationships will have a negative impact on your mental health. Most of us are still aware or recovering from the impact of the most recent pandemic. There are many studies that have published data related to the degradation of mental health with the decline of as much human social interaction. On the other hand, we are also able to see the mitigation of the negative impacts through the development of various products and services offered to create creative and innovative methods that compensated for the lack of social interaction during that time.

Neglecting the necessary relationships or types of relationships that are right for you can result in:

An increased risk of developing Coronary Heart Disease or CHD.
Feeling drained post engaging in relationships that do not pour into you
Feeling depleted or an imbalance between you and the other person (people)
Degraded self esteem, resulting in an increase of poor decision making
Increased chances of developing anxiety and depression
With increased chances of aforementioned risks, each can result in a lack of maintaining the healthy habits necessary to maintain a quality life.

It's important to understand that the impacts mentioned here are not the only possibilities. There are many others. This includes the impact that is caused by developing habits in the above list, and not seeking the appropriate change or help necessary to improve the current state. Think of it as a domino effect, where one thing can trigger the onset of a host of other things, if not mitigated at the correct point in time or with the correct coping mechanisms.

Tips for Managing Relationships

In the event that you or someone you know falls into the cyclic onset of impacted mental health due to low quality relationships, this section includes actions you can take to mitigate increased risks. This includes taking preventative actions to avoid falling into a cyclic pattern that is damaging to your self esteem and mental health.

Improve your own communication skills to effectively communicate with the necessary individuals in a way.
Prioritize and understand your own needs to better communicate your wants and needs to the other person(s).
Prioritize time to connect with family and friends outside of annual holidays and birthdays. Even if it is occasional phone calls.
As weird as this may sound, learn how to be alone. If you want to learn more about why this is important, contact us directly or on Instagram!
It's not all about you. Relationships are give and take. Sometimes you will have to show up for the other person a bit more. Make sure you are showing up for the "right" person. You don't want to keep pouring into a cup for a person that refuses to pour into yours.
As important as it is to show up for the other person, there will be times where we are not able to. Be comfortable with prioritizing your self when you are feeling depleted. It's really about how you communicate this.
Set boundaries and respect others' boundaries.

This is not an complete or exhaustive list of things, however it is critical to understanding and following to maintain healthy boundaries. In addition, not everyone will be compatible with you. That is okay. Understand that there is a world filled with beautiful individuals who share similar values and beliefs, waiting for the opportunity to connect with you.

Final Thoughts

Social relationships, despite their type, play a key role in the success of our social lives. Humans are also complex, making this a simple but sometimes challenging thing to maintain. This also heavily depends on what a quality social life looks like to each individual. There are individuals who require a different set of requirements and different levels of interaction to achieve a quality social life. It's about how we communicate this to one another. In another post we'll provide you with more information related to effective communication.

If you are having any doubts about the quality of your social life, I challenge you to take a moment to jot down your wants and needs, to begin the process of determining where things are lacking, why, and identify ways to improve them. Whether that is exploring new areas, identifying social events in your local area or whatever it is you need. And remember, sometimes it is not you. You could be in the wrong group, the wrong city, or attempting to achieve something with the wrong person(s). The world is filled with over 8 billion people, get out of your head and go find your tribe!

-- Techinmama