Our lives are indeed incomplete without socializing. Social health has become the most overlooked aspect of our lives in today’s day and age, with time its value has degraded. The relationships among people are limited to just increasing in screen time usage. It’s amusing how people glorify solitude during the day and resent mental health problems when it is dark. This is because people do not realize the importance of exercising their “social muscle”.
A survey conducted in the year 2018 found that 40% of young adults between the ages of 16-24 feel isolated daily. Whereas 29 % of people of age 65-74 felt lonely. Lastly, 27% of the aged population too had unimpressive social wellness results. This is a form of wellness that affects all age groups. Therefore, it is something that one should build on from the very beginning.
Social wellness is a way to build genuine relationships with people. It is about developing connections and maintaining them. One can foster good social health by maintaining healthy relations with friends, teachers, family, colleagues, and even acquaintances. The primary idea behind maintaining cordial relations is to seek support, guidance, communication, and trust during the highs and lows of life.
How is social wellness related to overall wellness?
Social wellness is indirectly related to the complete or overall wellness. How? A healthy social network is instrumental in nurturing good mental health. There is lesser stress and anxiety. This keeps the endocrine system of the body healthy. As a result, there is better cardiovascular functioning which leads to a stronger immune system.
What are the signs of poor social health?
“Social wellness” is not much-talked-about concept. Moreover, factors like the pandemic and strengthening of the digital era, busy home bound lives might have kept you away from evaluating your social health. However, now you know that poor social health could affect your overall health. It’s time you should evaluate and work on it. Therefore, we have come up with a list of signs that denote poor social health:
1. Sign: Reluctant to Reach Out
One of the highly alarming signs of poor social health is the unwillingness to reach out for anything. You might not want to join any group. Often there are groups with intellectual and inspiring people. These people might teach you a lot of things and help you grow as a person. Staying in yourself is not going to help you explore. So try looking out for a productive group if you have not found one.
2. Sign: Unpleasant Relationships
An unpleasant relationship instigates unhealthy social health. Such a relationship with anyone might exhaust your urge to socialize. It can hamper your emotional state and leave you with bitter experiences. So try to come out of the toxicity in order to strengthen your social health.
3. Sign: Poor Communication Skills
Poor communication skills indicate the inability to express your feelings. This ultimately frustrates the relationship that you are trying to build with others. Be vocal about your feelings and views. Open up a little, this will make it easy for you to discover like-minded people.
4. Sign: Lack of Self-Love
You need to be social with your own self too. People with poor social health compare themselves with others to find that they are not good enough. If you think the same, then you definitely need to work on self-love first. Lack of self-acceptance and love is a serious threat to social wellness. Low self-love suggests a lack of confidence. Practice self-love to elevate your self-esteem and confidence. This enhances your personality and also attracts people to talk to you.
5. Sign: Poor Mental Health
Poor social health results in poor mental health. Our minds feel empty when there is not much “healthy food for thought”. An empty mind easily starts to ponder over negative aspects. This results in bad mental health. However, the presence of a social circle will always bring you innovative discussions. This way the mind stays engaged in thinking about unique and intellectual topics.
6. Sign: Health Issues
It is not tough to understand that overwhelmingly poor social health calls upon stress. Too much stress causes serious health issues like sugar, poor immune system, blood pressure etc. However, the qualities of social wellness keep stress far away from a person and in a way prevent critical health issues.
7. Sign: Mobility Issues
Bad social health induces a chain reaction in the body. One can experience mental anguishes when they are unable to share their feelings with anyone. This brings unnecessary emotional strain. It is known to affect the mobility of the body. Sometimes emotionally challenging times exhaust the ability of the body to move. So if you too have mobility issues then do analyze your social well being.
Tips To Bring Your Social Fitness Back On Track
Influence of positive people
To improve your social health, it is important to build a good social network. You can successfully make that happen if you connect with people who are of a positive influence. A positive social network will always keep you cheered up. You will never feel abandoned.
Find Hobbies
Hobbies and various other activities keep the brain in a constant happy loop. That way the brain forgets about worrisome problems. Also, perform your favorite activities. It helps you to connect with your own self better.
Work on Effective Communication
You need to learn the art of delivering your views. People need to know you before they socialize with you. Hence, learn to communicate effectively. It helps!
Create yourself a routine
Follow a healthy routine. This includes a nutritious diet, regular workouts, ample sleep, and eliminating alcohol and smoke. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a routine is effective in keeping oneself contented and happy both mentally and physically.
Practice self-love
Interacting with your self is important too. Performing self-love is a great way of sustaining social wellness. It is completely about embracing the small needs of your mind and body. It makes you feel delighted.
Practice Gratitude
Being kind, appreciative, and thankful are qualities that make you an approachable person. These are traits of a positive person in a room. Therefore, practice gratitude each day.
Takeaway
Deep down our minds always crave support and belongingness. However, sometimes we become completely aloof from the social world. Social wellness is a big part of our lives. Apart from interacting with others, it is also about positively communicating with oneself for a healthier mind and body. Moreover, taking care of social wellbeing saves you from several unpleasant situations and health risks that might arise later in life.
