Why is support important

It does not matter what you have been through in your past, or what you believe your future looks like. Why is it important to have a support system? A strong social support system of friends and family can help us accomplish our goals or deal with a crisis. Cultivating a support system takes time as we build up friendships and relationships with people over the course of a lifetime.

When you do not take the time to foster relationships, you are in danger of poor social support system has been linked to depression and loneliness, which can lead to suicide, alcohol use, cardiovascular disease, and altered brain function.

Here are several benefits of having a support system and choosing the right people to spend time with. Oftentimes, isolation can worsen episodes of mental illness. It is frightening how the brain can work against you in your most vulnerable moments. It often offers confirmation bias of your worst insecurities, causing you to suffer from anxiety , depression and other conditions.

Social support helps to reconnect you to the external world while giving you the opportunity to focus on other people and interactions. Sometimes this comes in the form of a heart to heart with a friend and seeking out useful advice. Other times, you may find yourself on the giving end of the advice. Everyone is an expert at something.

When you experience a particularly bad mental health episode, you may feel unwilling to reach out to others for help.

You may find yourself increasingly turning down dates and get-togethers. People who are respectful of your time and space will back off and allow you to come around on your own. This is a healthy approach, but there is a line that the people closest to you need to draw. These unprompted check-ins often lead to encouragement for you to pursue healthier behaviors. Your spouse may come home from work and encourage you to eat something wholesome.

A friend may recommend that you join him at the gym. Your mother may come by and start to clean up the house and open the blinds.

There will be days when all of these activities feel bothersome. You may even feel frustrated, pressured and angry. However, these are also often lifesavers as they provide buoyancy at times when depression may otherwise weigh you down to rock bottom. The further along you are in your recovery process, the more you will feel grateful for these moments.

For some people, maintaining your privacy is key. You may want the benefits of a social support system but worry about needing to disclose what ails you to achieve this. In fact, you may not know the answer to this yourself. Still, having a support group helps to provide healthy distractions. Leigh-Hunt N, et al. An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness.

Public Health. Ditzen B, et al. Psychobiology of social support: The social dimension of stress buffering. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. Levula A, et al. Social network factors as mediators of mental health and psychological distress. International Journal for Social Psychiatry. Rakel RE, et al. Psychosocial influences on health. In: Textbook of Family Medicine. Philadelphia, Pa. Your tribe: Seed and feed. Hitchcott PK, et al.

Psychological well-being in Italian families: An exploratory approach to the study of mental health across the adult life span in the Blue Zone. Europe's Journal of Psychology. Fastame MC, et al. Resilience in elders of the Sardinian Blue Zone: An explorative study.

Behavioral Sciences. See also 3 simple strategies to help you focus and de-stress 3 ways to become more stress resilient 3 ways to learn patience and amp up your well-being 4 proven ways you can feel happier 5 ways to bring play back into your life A Very Happy Brain Adapt to put stress in its place Anger management: Your questions answered Are your holidays a dietary free-for-all? People I would like to have in my support group include:. Well young people with chronic pain, because it can't be seen, it's important to have people around you who can support you who even though they can't see the pain understand what your experiencing and understand your needs and they can go into bat for you when you need an extra support person so it's important to choose your support team, if you like, wisely, people who you see often and in the situations you live your life in, they don't have to know all about chronic pain to begin with, you can help them and others can help them to understand your pain and what chronic pain means to you and how they can help you.

Yeah my but my friends can pick up when I'm in pain they can tell and if, um we go somewhere that's like a lot of walking or anything in general, like, they'll like, they'll be jump on my back I'll give you a piggyback like, so your not walking or um, no they can see, they can tell if I'm in pain and then they'll make sure I'm okay, they'll make sure I get rest.

One of the things that really helped me get through school was having a great support base whilst I was there, my head of middle school was fantastic in helping me get through each day and checking up on me on every day I had some great friends that were there to help me and really support me through this tough time at school.

So when you've got chronic pain the people you might think of surrounding yourself with, who can support you, are your family, your friends, um people from school or social groups and remember it doesn't have to be face to face there's whole lot that happens online and those friendships can be special too.

Pain Management Network. Pain Management Network Toggle navigation. For Everyone Episode 1 Introduction to Pain. Episode 2 Getting help from your Healthcare Team. Episode 3 Pain and Physical Activity.

Episode 4 Pain: Lifestyle and Nutrition. Episode 5 Pain and Role of Medications. Episode 6 Pain and Thoughts. Episode 7 Pain and Sleep. For Youth Episode 1 Introduction to Pain 5 segments 1. Episode 2 Pain and Physical Activity 6 segments 1. Episode 3 Pain and Feelings 3 segments 1. Episode 4 Pain and Mind-Body Connection 6 segments 1. Relaxation techniques and mindfulness 6.

Using techniques in everyday life Feedback. Episode 5 Pain and School 7 segments 1. School can be challenging 2. Episode 6 Pain and Family 5 segments 1. You're not alone in coping with pain 2. Tips for siblings and Families Feedback. Episode 7 Staying on Track 2 segments 1. Episode 3 Getting help from your Healthcare Team.