Primary food: having happy relationships
We now know that people with strong social ties are mentally, emotionally, and physically healthier than socially isolated people. Having happy relationships is part of primary food and healthy living. While happy relationships are beneficial in many ways, unhappy relationships can create stress and anxiety, which can manifest in different ways, such as headaches, sleep disorders, digestive disorders, etc.
Quality relationships make you happier and healthier. Your relationships with your love partner are often central, but relationships with family and friends are just as essential to a good life. How we interact with our family, colleagues, and friends is a profound reflection of our inner well-being and vice versa.
What can you do to show and be more present with the people you care about or foster new relationships with those you would like to have in your life?
There are many ways to connect with the people around you and improve the quality of your relationships:
Explore your feelings
Think of situations where you have felt included and seen, and understood by someone else. Think about how you felt when you were respected and appreciated. Think of the feeling of tenderness and affection that has been addressed to you. Finally, think about what it feels like to be loved and the people with whom you have had a romantic relationship.
How do you feel after exploring these thoughts? How do you want others to feel? This conscious practice is an excellent way to examine the quality of your relationships and cultivate positive ones in the future.
Identify positive and negative relationships
Healthy relationships can be identified through trust, honesty, mutual respect, support, maintaining separate identities, and the sense of love and tenderness they bring to us. Unhealthy relationships, on the other hand, involve apparent consequences such as feelings of pressure to change, as well as less clear signs such as constant anxiety towards the other person and fear of disturbing them, problems of manipulation or control or physical violence, lack of respect, lack of privacy or denial of time alone, or not making an effort to spend time together.
Sometimes we can overcome these negative aspects when both sides of the relationship want to change. At other times, we realize that it is in our interest to entirely get out of a toxic relationship and that we can continue, knowing that we have done what was suitable for our well-being and happiness. Working with a coach or talking to a close friend is a way to identify these aspects of your relationships to find actions that meet your needs.
Realize that everyone has an innate desire to be close to others
Try to spend your day with the mantra “Just like me” to understand that those who seem quite different from you are not - they hope to belong and feel understood, like the rest of us. The more you approach others with this attitude, the more you will receive it. Creating a warm environment to understand others will break down barriers and open the door to better communication, equality and support.
Relationships are beautiful and disordered, complicated but also sometimes very simple. No two people are alike, meaning no relationship will be either. Working on your relationships allows you to grow while offering this opportunity to someone else. In addition, it is an essential element for your health and longevity. Try these practices and notice how your relationships are beginning to evolve more positively. Remember, relationships are an integral part of your primary food.
