Today we move on to our next topic Social Wellness
Social wellness can be defined as being able to interact positively with people around us. It involves using good communication skills, having meaningful relationships, respecting oneself and others, and having a support system of friends and family.
Human beings are social creatures.Our relationships can offer support during difficult times. Social wellness involves building healthy, nurturing and supportive relationships as well as fostering a genuine connection with those around you. Our connection to others enables us to survive and thrive. Research has shown that people who do have healthy relationships and good support systems have better overall mood, deal better with stress and actually have increased self-esteem. Social relationships have just as much impact on physical well – being as other wellness factors, such as, physical activity, overweight / obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, heart disease and smoking.
It is important to practice and participate in social wellness through all stages of life in order to develop and maintain healthy relationships and friendships. Social isolation and loneliness have been identified as a growing, legitimate health concern and they are risk factors for poor aging outcomes, subsequently there have been initiatives that encourage seniors to participate in activities which keep them physically and emotionally well. These include doing things that keep them socially connected to others and in community. Today, social wellness can be more and more difficult to achieve due to technology and social media. However, it is vital we give social wellness positive attention.
A more detailed definition of social wellness I came across included:
Development of assertiveness skills not passive or aggressive ones.
Balancing social and personal time.
The ability to be who you are in all situations.
Becoming engaged with other people in your community.
Valuing diversity and treat others with respect.
Continually being able to maintain and develop friendships and social networks.
The ability to create boundaries within relationship boundaries that encourage communication, trust and conflict management.
Remembering to have fun.
Communicating clearly helps you manage your time and your life, to feel good about yourself, and to build trustworthy relationships with others. This involves:
Listening to one another: in a non-judgmental way and value each other’s opinions. Respect also involves attempting to understand and affirm the other’s emotions.
Being open: Don’t assume something is happening for someone else or wait for others to try to guess what is going on with you. Learn how to express your needs in a non-demanding way.
Maintaining your own identity: In a healthy relationship, both parties need to make compromises. But that doesn’t mean you should feel like you’re losing out on being yourself. Neither of you should have to pretend to like something you don’t or give up seeing your friends, or drop out of activities that you love. You should feel free to keep developing new talents or interests, making new friends, and moving forward with your life.
Being honest and trustworthy: Honesty goes hand in hand with trust. It is almost impossible to trust someone when one of you isn’t being honest.
Being supportive: In a healthy relationship, friends are there with a shoulder to cry on but also to celebrate the good times. People in healthy relationships try not to judge, criticize or blame each other because we are all human and capable of making mistakes.
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