Power of Social Support on Psychological Wellbeing

Power of Social Support on Psychological Wellbeing

People feel the urge to speak and interact with others throughout their lives, as well as receive support. This aid has immense capacity to sustain people’s survival, to help them cope more smoothly with stressful circumstances, and to acquire problem-solving abilities for different stages of life.

Having a network of relatives and friends to whom you may turn in times of need is what social support is all about. These relationships are vital in how you perform in your day-to-day life, whether you are facing a mental breakdown and require immediate support or simply want to interact with people who care about you.

Think about

Social support is not just a one-way relationship. Just as others are an element of support for you, you also serve as a support for others in your life.

What should you expect from social support?

The psychological and material resources offered by a social network to help individuals cope with stress are known as social support. We may see social support in various forms. These may include:

→ Assisting someone with everyday duties when they are sick,

→ Advising a friend when they are in a difficult situation. This generally involves listening, empathizing, caring, calming down, validating the emotions you are going through.

Support as a Protective Shield 🛡️

Social support is a critical protective component in coping with life’s challenges. It has been demonstrated that social support improves both mental and physical health, and works as a shield against stressful circumstances.

Social relationships have also been linked to a variety of characteristics of health and wellness, according to research. Poor social support has been linked to sadness, loneliness, increased risky behaviors, and poor life quality as well as impaired brain function, and increased risk of developing alcohol use, cardiovascular diseases, depression.

Some Tips to Cultivate Social Support 🤔

Be proactive: Waiting for the other to make the first move may not be the best thing to do in gathering a social network. Don’t just wait for the other person to make an introduction, this may even result in extending the period of interaction and increase the likelihood of fear of rejection. A cliché: Life is too short to wait for it! Just go for it and keep it simple, casual, and to the point.
Maintain: You need to put in an effort to get the most out of your social interactions. Spare some time for the relationships that matter to you the most. Make plans with them, ask for a life update, and share your personal challenges.
Network of people for every need: Social support is about the function and quality of relationships. Although you may want to share all your goods and bads with a single person, you may consider that not everyone may be able to give you the assistance you need for a specific problem. Search for various types of support in different relationships. However, keep in mind that you should seek out people you can trust and rely on to avoid disappointing consequences that might make you feel much worse.
Trust in your interests: In short, enjoy the best of both worlds! Interests are a great way to meet with new people and maintain relationships while enjoying doing the thing you love. To do this, just search for facilities or group gatherings around your local area that organizes activities in line with your interests and sign in!
Love what technology gives you: Sometimes face to face interactions may not be possible but video calls, text messages, emails are all alternatives that enable you to communicate with people.

Last Words…

Research has shown that giving social support to the ones that matter most in our lives like family or close friends is more important than receiving social support. In the long run, receiving social support attaches meaning to individuals’ lives by motivating them to give back and strengthens the bonds.

Not everyone easily accumulates or holds a network of support. For those people, reaching for psychological support may help to alleviate stress and depression arising from lack of social support and developing skills to build and maintain relationships.

Author

Selen Gönül

Clinical Psychologist (MSc.)

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