Why Are Relationships So Important to Our Wellbeing?

Over the last couple of months, we’ve been taking a deep dive into the various elements of Positive Psychology’s PERMAH model  Each of these pillars (positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment and health) has a significant impact on our wellbeing.  When we start seeing our wellbeing as multi-dimensional and giving attention and care to all the areas that affect our well-being we can truly begin to thrive.  

Over the next few articles, we’ll be exploring the Relationship Pathway. When we spend time with people we love and enjoy we feel a deep sense of fulfillment and connection. These feelings contribute positively to our overall well-being. 

Why Are Relationships So Important to Wellbeing?

“Other people matter” – Chris Peterson

We have a biological need for social support. Each time we joyfully connect with another person, the pleasure-inducing hormone, oxytocin, is released into our bloodstream, immediately reducing anxiety and improving concentration and focus. Each social connection also bolsters our cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune systems, so that the better connections we build over time, the better we function. In fact, research has convincingly shown that social support has as much effect on life expectancy as smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, and regular physical activity (Anchor, 2010).

Over the past couple of years, many people were impacted by COVID-19, not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and socially. We are social beings who crave meaningful connections, our innate need to form, grow, and sustain relationships is evident from infancy. High-quality interpersonal relationships provide a source of joy and meaning, and these relationships have been identified as one of the most reliable indicators of happiness, health, longevity, and life satisfaction for all ages. A sense of relatedness to others is an integral part of flourishing, not the number of relationships, but the quality of relationships. Think about investing less time in superficial relationships and more time in high-quality, valued relationships. 

Strengthen Your Connection to Others

Try this exercise: Think about your most valued relationships, even if you have only one valued relationship, it’s better to have one meaningful relationship versus a large network of superficial relationships. Remember, quality is more important than quantity in terms of happiness, health, longevity, and life satisfaction.

Select up to four relationships that you value most, list them and then reflect and journal on the reasons why they are valued. Now for each relationship, indicate how much time you invest with each of them, where 1 means you don’t invest any time in them and 10 means you spend or invest a lot of time in them. Look at each one and ask yourself if you invest enough time in these valued relationships.

Then, consider what you can realistically do to cultivate these relationships further. 

Keep going, keep growing…

This article is the first of a four-part Relationship Pathway series, be sure to check out these related articles below!

How to Build Small Moments of Connection Into Everyday Life

How Workplace Relationships Impact Our Wellbeing and Psychological Safety at Work

Give and Take: Striking the Right Balance to Cultivate Thriving Relationships