As the saying goes, 'No man is an island' - everyone needs companionship and a shoulder to lean on. It is important to surround ourselves with family and friends for support and comfort in both times of joy and distress. Studies have shown that having supportive relationships is a strong protective factor against mental illnesses and helps to increase our mental well-being.
What does it mean to have a supportive network of family and friends?
Having a supportive network of family and friends does not mean that one should seek to make as many friends as possible for the sake of doing so. Instead, one should strive to focus on the several important relationships with a handful of people in their social circle and strengthen these relationships.
It is about building and maintaining a network of people that you can trust and fall back on in times of difficulty.
Why is it important to have a supportive network of family and friends?
After our basic physiological (air, water etc) and safety needs (safe neighbourhood, job security etc) are met, the next stage is to fulfil our social needs. We need to feel a sense of belonging to a larger social group and feel socially connected to our family and friends.
Furthermore, we need people to turn to for advice and encouragement whenever we face difficult times.
It is not enough to just have one person in your support network as you may over-rely and exhaust that person. It can also be devastating if the only one person that you have been relying on is unable to be with you. Therefore, it is advisable to have a number of strong relationships in your social circle.
Furthermore, different people bring out different aspects of our personalities and fulfil different roles in our lives. For example, an extroverted friend may bring out the party animal in you whenever you are in the mood to have fun and celebrate, whereas, another friend who is quiet and loyal can be a good listener when you need to talk about your problems. Different people can also help us to see the same problem in different ways. This gives us a more complete picture of the situation.