5 WAYS TO WELLBEING - CONNECTING

What is connecting and why is it important?

Connecting is a social thing; it’s about the act of engaging with other people and the social world around us – it’s a word used to say that two or more things relate to each other in some way. As social creatures, we naturally need a level of interaction with others and to be connected. Evidence has shown us that the social bonds that we build with others helps to provide us with a sense of belonging, the feeling of being valued and accepted, and can affirm our status and self-worth. Having positive connections with other people is good for our mental health and wellbeing, as it attends to these needs and our sense of self. Connecting is not only good for us because of the initial rewards it provides – but through connecting with others and building more meaningful relationships we can begin to create a network of people to turn to if we do experience difficult times in our lives. Having a strong social network and support system of people that are there to listen and offer support can help us move forward from negative experiences with greater ease.

Types of Connections – Types of Relationships

The ways that we are connected to others, and the types of relationships that we have, are often varied and diverse. For many of us, our most intimate connections are those with our family, close friends or a partner. However, not all connections and relationships need to be as intimate and offer the same things. In fact, many studies have shown that having a wide-social network made up of connections with all sorts of people, such as colleagues, peers, acquaintances, people that share similar interests, and the community where you live, offer their own distinctive benefits – such as feeling part of something wider than an immediate family or friendship group, sharing specific interests with like-minded individuals, and an awareness of shared values with others in the community where you live or involve yourself in. Because of the wealth of different benefits that different relationships offer, it is important to nurture all of them.

Little things we can do every day

Sometimes it’s the simple things that can make a real difference to us and help us feel connected to others. In our busy lives, we often close ourselves off to other people without even realising we’re doing it. The image of a busy commuter train; with people listening to music, playing on their phones or starring through the window really highlights how disconnected from others we can be at times. By making the time each day to open ourselves up to others, we can start to enjoy the benefits that connecting can bring to our lives.

With practice, connecting with other people can become second nature. You may be surprised how little pleasant gestures like smiling at others or having a light-hearted chat with the people around us – whether its fellow commuters or an acquaintance at work, can lift ours mood and increase our sense of wellbeing. Finding the time each day to talk with someone new can open up our world and give you a sense of being better connected with others.

Meeting new people

Growing our social networks and making new friends can be an enriching experience, but sometimes it can be hard to know where to start and where to go to meet people with similar interests and values. For many, investing time in joining social groups or a course online where they can learn new skills and meet new people, have shown to be great ways to meet like-minded people and network. 



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