When it comes to healing from mental and emotional struggles, many people often focus on individual therapy and medical treatments. While these are certainly important for recovery, healthy relationships with family and friends play an integral role.
Human beings are social creatures by nature. We thrive when we feel supported, understood and connected. Relationships with family members and close friends provide us with emotional support, a sense of belonging and stability. We know that these benefits are essential to mental health and well-being, however it is clinically proven and factual that people with strong social connections recover more quickly from a variety of mental and emotional issues than those who do not have strong connections.
This 2017 review of 64 studies found that social support had a significant beneficial effect on mental health. Researchers encourage clinicians to stress to family members how important their role is in healing.
How relationships help with addiction recovery.
For someone struggling with addiction, healthy relationships and community play a critical role for a successful recovery journey. Having a supportive family or circle of friends makes all the difference in someone’s ability to stay on track with sobriety.
When family and friends understand the challenges of addiction and provide non-judgmental support, it strengthens the individual’s resolve and accountability.
In a study by Islam, et al., researchers found that having social support was integral to treatment compliance, and abstinence from substances. Conversely, those without healthy support, fared much worse.
Healthy relationships create an environment of trust and love, helping the person recovering feel less isolated and more encouraged to stick with their goals. In many cases, these relationships serve as the foundation for long-term recovery and offer continuous motivation to maintain sobriety.
The role of social support for depression and anxiety.
Depression and anxiety often lead people to withdraw from their social circles, even though maintaining healthy relationships is exactly what they need. Positive connections provide emotional support and a sense of value. On a physical level, positive connection actually create happy cells flowing through our body. It’s a snowball affect: Happy creates more happy.
When we surround ourselves with people who genuinely care about us, it repairs feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, along with allowing for less isolation. And isolation is the dark cycle that creates more depression and anxiety.
Social connections help shift a person’s mindset, contributing to a sense of purpose and self-worth and like the happy cells in our body, will snowball into more feelings of purpose and self-worth.
Connection has a healing power.
Healthy relationships are actually a powerful healing force. When someone is surrounded by genuine care, it gives us a resilience to life struggles. We feel emotionally stronger when we are loved. When we feel stronger, we feel motivated to be better.
We know this; the happiest times throughout our lives are the times we spend with good connections. We are wired for connection.
Healthy relationships are a necessity.
It’s not the number of relationships that matter. It’s the quality of those relationships. Healthy relationships are not only nice to have, they are a necessity for mental, emotional and physical well-being. They provide us with the safety, love and encouragement we need to thrive, especially in times of healing.
At Therapeutic Educational Consulting, we guide, support and recommend placement options for treatment centers, nature-based therapy, boarding schools, and alternative education for adolescents and young adults. A no-cost is discovery call can be scheduled with Rae Guyer, your therapeutic consultant.
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