Mental health is an invaluable part of overall health, and properly caring for it requires more than just personal effort. You can also benefit significantly from a strong support system to keep your mental health resilience. However, creating that solid support network requires intention, not luck. Your supportive friends and family can help from anywhere. Paired with a therapist in Maryland to assist you in strengthening and building off of those relationships, you may find new strategies to bolster your mental wellness and emotional well-being.
Examining the Role of Social Support in Mental Health
Social support is being able to rely on friends, family, and other loved ones to withstand stressors and emotional or mental turmoil. Studies indicate that a strong support network is directly correlated to better resilience against challenges in this arena. Connection in this manner offers both psychological and emotional benefits, making patients feel supported and understood.
Types of Support to Consider in Your Network
Patients may recognize that support would be valuable, but what can that support look like? For many, the most valuable types of assistance are:
- Emotional Support: Friends, family, and loved ones who listen, provide empathy, and offer reassurance.
- Practical Support: Family, friends, and the community assisting with tangible physical needs, such as childcare, meals, or errands, to share burdens and reduce stress.
- Professional Support: Therapists and mental health professionals discussing and teaching individual coping strategies or offering insight.
- Peer Support: Community or online groups and support circles that provide connections, shared experiences, and compassion.
Identifying and Cultivating Your Support Network
If support from one or more of these areas sounds valuable to you, the next question is how to develop that relationship. It is essential to bear in mind that, while your loved ones, friends, and community can be irreplaceable when things get challenging, they are people too; you can learn to grow through each other rather than create a one-sided dynamic.
Step 1: Assessing Your Current Support System
To begin, consider all of your current relationships and how they are influencing your mental health. Now is the time to identify the help you need, but it is also an opportunity to spot relationships that are causing greater issues and place boundaries on those connections. Your bonds can build you up or tear you down, and some can even do both simultaneously. If you are doubtful about how to tell the difference, talk to your therapist! They can help you spot resources that serve you and those that do not.
Step 2: Building Multifaceted Connections
Creating more than one type of bond promotes resilience in your mental health. Do not rely solely on one person (for your wellness and theirs); instead, cultivate a mix of support types.
Step 3: Expanding Your Network
If you have identified gaps in your support, consider how to engage with new people. Work, community groups, online spaces, and friends of friends are all good places to start. Therapy can connect you with resources or help you develop stronger interpersonal skills to nourish the bonds you establish or already have.
Therapy as a Cornerstone of Your Support System
If you already have friends and family to assist, why invest in therapy as well? Therapy is a tool for personal growth and an avenue for support. It is not just about “fixing” problems; it involves learning to maneuver the relationships you have (or cultivate new ones) and to experience life transitions with confidence.
Therapy can help you to understand your own personal needs and improve your communication with others. Both are non-negotiable for building a support network that actually helps you. In those support relationships, you will still need to set boundaries and communicate well, both skills that your therapist can help you develop.
Try Therapy as Part of Your Mental Health Support System
Approaching your mental wellness alone is not the most direct path to success. Building a support system is one of the best ways to achieve your goals, but creating these strong bonds is far more than luck. You will need to invest time and effort in personal growth to cultivate relationships that help you bloom.
Therapy can be a foundational tool in this effort, both for yourself and to manage your relationships. Whether you are experiencing high levels of stress, emotional lows, or something else, the combination of therapy and friendly support can help you get through challenging times. Contact Village Counseling to schedule your therapist appointment in Maryland and take the first step toward creating a strong foundation for long-lasting mental wellness.