How To Foster Positive Relationships For Better Mental Health

Here we will go over how to foster positive relationships that help improve your mental health. Strong relationships that radiate positivity are an important part of keeping your mind and emotions healthy. These relationships combat feelings of loneliness, provide emotional support, and mood your mood.

Below are some ways to help these connections flourish. Let’s jump right in.

Practice Communication Skills

Communication is at the forefront of relationship development. It is how you determine whether you enjoy an individual’s personality and if your interests align. On the other hand, poor communication typically weakens a relationship.

You can practice and strengthen your communication skills in many ways.

Here are some examples:

Active listening– When speaking to your friends and family, practice active listening by not interrupting them when they are speaking, putting your phone away, and asking clarifying questions.

Non-verbal communication– Properly communicating with your eyes, hands, body, and facial expressions is important. It’s usually our body that gives us away when we are not being genuine, and it’s our body that makes someone feel comfortable when we are being genuine. Practice non-verbal communication by making eye contact, watching your tone, having an open posture, and avoiding crossing your arms and fidgeting.

Broaden Your Social Circle

Having a diverse social circle made up of individuals from various walks of life is a fantastic way to create positive relationships across the board.

When you have friendships with individuals of varying backgrounds, you are exposed to different perspectives. This helps you develop a deeper understanding of different lifestyles, life events, and cultures.

This deeper understanding contributes to personal growth and challenges your biases, making you less judgmental toward yourself and others. A diverse social group also teaches you new skills and knowledge and if you are like most, gaining new skills and knowledge makes you feel great about yourself.

Set Boundaries

Setting boundaries in a relationship is a necessary step to maintaining positivity within it.

Boundaries protect emotions and show respect. Luckily, setting boundaries can be simple, and here’s how.

Understand your needs– Think about what topics make you uncomfortable and determine whether you are open to discussing them with loved ones.

Ask your loved ones to self-reflect– Talk to your loved ones about identifying their own boundaries.

Have the conversation– Once you and your loved ones have an understanding of the boundaries you want to place, sit down and share your thoughts and new rules.

Respect the boundaries– the last step is actively respecting each other’s boundaries. Always avoid topics and behaviors that make your loved one uncomfortable and don’t be afraid to let others know when they are crossing the boundaries you set.

Practice Self-Care

When you practice self-care, you are supporting your emotional health and improving your self-image.

Improving your emotional health and self image helps you bring the best version of yourself to the table. Your stress reduces, you become less judgemental, and you find it easier to spend quality time with others because self-care elevates your mood.

To practice self-care, find activities that make you feel good and help you relax then, do at least one every day.

Some examples of self-care practices include:

Yoga– Yoga is a calming activity that relieves muscle tension, and helps you practice deep breathing and mindfulness.

Pampering yourself– Regardless of your age, race, and gender, you should spend some time pampering yourself. Do things like taking a hot bubble bath, applying a face mask, getting a mani-pedi, or getting a haircut.

Take care of your muscles– One of the best ways to practice self-care is spending time relaxing your muscles. Your muscles are affected by every movement you make and every emotion you feel so it’s important to give them a chance to release and repair. Consider scheduling a massage, visiting a sauna, or using cannabis (learn more here).

Spend Time Doing Activities You Both Enjoy

Spending time on your hobbies and favorite activities is wonderful for your mental health, and doing these activities with others helps you connect and feel close.

Every time you share an exciting, fun, or positive moment with someone, your brain attaches the memory of that joy to the person you did it with. This makes it so that when you see or talk to each other, your brain releases endorphins, and you feel happy.

On the contrary, if you have a relationship that primarily consists of spending time gossiping or speaking negatively, your brain will associate that person with negativity.

As you can see, it’s important to participate in activities with your loved one. Consider going to dinner, doing arts and crafts, hiking, or playing a game. Just be sure that it’s an activity you both like that way everyone involved makes those joyous connections in the brain.