The importance of social support
When your car breaks down, you’re grieving the loss of a loved one, or you’re going through a rough time at work, supportive people in your life can rush in to help. But a reliable social support network isn’t just useful in emergency situations. Strong relationships with friends and family members can also bolster your mood, improve your outlook, and preserve your mental well-being.
Research shows that people with high levels of social support seem to be more resilient in the face of stressful situations. They also have a lower perception of stress in general and have less of a physiological response to life’s stressors. Maybe that blown transmission doesn’t seem so devastating when your friend is with you in the car. Or perhaps a normally stressful errand feels more like an adventure when your sibling or partner tags along.
Social support can also provide you with comfort even when the stress feels completely unbearable. Perhaps you’re feeling physically exhausted or emotionally numb from long hours at a high-stress job, caring for an ailing loved one, or coming to terms with a traumatic event. Having the love and support of people around you can help mediate even the negative health effects of burnout or ease the psychological distress that comes with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). So, whether you’re dealing with chronic stress or day-to-day frustrations, reaching out to others can be a go-to strategy for managing stress.
Other benefits of social support
Although stress relief is one major benefit, social support is also essential to maintaining your overall mental health. Connecting with others can:
- Increase happiness. If you want a quick mood boost, schedule time with a friend. Research shows that good social relations improve overall happiness. On the other hand, loneliness and low social support is linked to depression and anxiety.
- Improve physical health. Social isolation is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and inflammation. Loneliness can also have a negative effect on your immune system.
- Improve cognitive functioning. Social isolation and loneliness can accelerate cognitive decline. Maintaining an active social life is especially important for people who are at risk of dementia or in the early stages of the disease.
- Ease the pain and loneliness of grief. The death of a loved one or loss of a relationship can make you feel alone in your grief. Friends and family members can offer emotional support in troubling times.
- Make you feel understood. A friend who listens and is able to empathize can help you feel less lonely. This helps reduce feelings of isolation and gives a boost to your self-esteem.
- Offer new perspectives and aid in problem-solving. If you’re grappling with a difficult decision or stuck in a pattern of negative thinking, a friend’s advice or words of encouragement can offer guidance. In some cases, talking with someone close can even help you identify the root causes of your emotional distress.
- Reinforce healthy habits. The people around you might influence you to make decisions that further enhance your mental and physical health, such as exercising regularly or quitting smoking.
- Add meaning to your life. Close relationships can help give you a stronger sense of meaning and purpose in life. In turn, you might be less likely to engage in risky behavior and more likely to take care of yourself.
- Increase your lifespan. Research even shows an association between supportive social relationships and a longer life. This could be due to the fact that relationships ease stress that in the long-term can harm the body and take years off your life.
How social support reduces stress
Whenever you perceive a threat—anything from physical danger to social humiliation to sudden financial trouble—your sympathetic nervous system springs into action, releasing stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. You’ll notice your blood pressure increases, your muscles tense, and your rate of breathing quickens. These effects aren’t always comfortable, but they’re intended to help you fight or flee from the perceived danger.
While this “fight or flight” response has a biological purpose, chronic stress can keep triggering it, which over time can cause serious health problems. It can impair your immune system, increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, and exacerbate existing problems like depression and memory difficulties.
Social interaction can act as a counter to the “fight or flight” response. Interacting with other people triggers your body to release hormones that create a sense of calm and other positive feelings. It’s your body’s way of encouraging you to drop your guard and relax. As this happens, your nervous system returns to a more normal and balanced state.
[Read: Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes]
Imagine that an interaction with a workplace bully leaves you feeling tense and defensive. Some kind words or validation from a friendly coworker can help you relax and emotionally recover from the incident. If you’re grieving the sudden loss of a loved one or coping with a distressing diagnosis, for example, your friends can’t make the problem go away. However, they can make you feel heard, loved, and ease the stress of the challenges you’re facing.
Increasing the stress-relieving benefits
While a text or phone call from a friend can offer some comfort when you’re dealing with stress, face-to-face interactions are far more beneficial. This is likely because factors such as vocal tone, eye contact, and physical touch can all play a role in calming our nervous systems. To better manage stress, try to prioritize in-person connections over calls, texts, or messaging.
In addition, the closer you are with the person you’re interacting with, the more your body releases calming hormones. Spending an afternoon with your best friend, for example, will improve your mood more than a brief interaction with a stranger. With that in mind, it’s important to surround yourself with the right people—those who care about you—and then put in effort to maintain those relationships. By doing so, you’ll tap into a reliable source of emotional support and stress relief.
article reference: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/social-support-for-stress-relief.htm