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spouse, partner and a healthy
intimate relationship promotes
happiness. A happy, stable relationship,
whether with a spouse or
partner, is connected to better
mental health. It cannot go without
mention that being in a bad relationship
can worsen your mental health.
An unstable or unhealthy relationship
with your partner can destroy
your self-esteem, increase your
stress, anxiety, and depression levels
and even trigger thoughts of suicide.
You are therefore, encouraged to be
happy always and be number one
cheer leaders of your partners for
the benefit of their mental health.
2. Being Loved Promotes
Self-Worth.
It is always normal to seek for
self-validation from other people,
for instance your marriage partner.
Feeling loved indeed adds to one’s
sense of self-worth. Knowing that
someone loves you means that you
matter, that you have value, and that
someone would be devastated if you
were gone. Thus, let us strive to
show each other love everyday
verbally and other actions. Some of
us lost ourselves in the lockdowns
and we are thankful of the partners,
family and children who have been
there for us. We all need encouragement
during “dark” and emotional
times. It can be difficult to see
your value, especially in the despair
of depression or suicidal thoughts.
But having someone who loves you
can be the lifeline you just need.
3. It’s the type of Social
Support not the quantity that
benefits Mental Health
The benefits of relationships are not
restricted to romantic connections.
Social support in any form has been
proven over and over again to be
good for mental health. Studies
show that the quality of social
support is much more important
than quantity. In other words,
it’s better to have one or two strong
social connections than a large
network of acquaintances. Teach
your children to be good companions
so that when you grow old they will
provide you and your grandchildren
good company. Can you imagine
being surrounded by many cold
people in your old age!
Research shows that a good social
support network benefits mental
health in several ways:
1.Better resilience in the face of stress
2. Healthier lifestyle choices
3. Better life-long mental health
4. Improved self-esteem
5. Fewer negative effects of stress
4. A Healthy Relationship
Wires Healthy Habits.
If you are in a healthy and happy
intimate relationship, you are more
likely to adopt and stick with healthy
lifestyle choices. These include
eating well, exercising, and avoiding
substance abuse. All of these physical
health habits promote good
mental health. Your relationship
may even encourage you to engage
in more positive mental health
habits, like opening up about your
feelings and engaging in productive
conflict resolution.
Focus on encouraging healthy habits
in each other for good mental
health. Find areas in which you can
both improve, such as drinking less
alcohol or getting adequate sleep.
Work on improving those habits
together and you will see improvements
in mental health as well.
5.Self-Love
Practicing self-love can improve
your self-esteem, make you aware of
your strengths and allow you to
embrace your weaknesses. While
you might want to do things that feel
good or exciting, practicing self-love
means choosing to do the things that
keep you focused on your goals and
moving towards a healthier, happier
life. Allow yourself to say no to
things that wear you down and harm
you physically or emotionally. This
applies to your work, personal life,
relationships, and recreational activities.
Surround yourself with a
healthy support system that includes
people who respect your boundaries
and who will keep you accountable.
Also remember that, forgiving
ourselves can take a back seat when
we feel low or stressed, but this is a
significant step towards self-love. We
might forget that we need to forgive
ourselves just as much as we need to
forgive others.
issue 1 Feb 2022 Mental Balance 19