interaction
"Sharing, developing, and sustaining meaningful relationships with others. This allows you to feel authentic and valued, and provides a sense of connection and belonging" - Social Well-being
Social well-being has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a central component of individuals' overall health.
While it's an essential part of our individual health and everyone needs social time to sustain their relationships with others, there's still a difference in people and how much social time they need or can handle in a period of time. There are three types of people on the spectrum, notice the use of the spectrum, it's used because you don't have to fit into either of these categories, you can lean towards one or the other.
INTROVERTS
Usually described as quiet when they are in a large group of people, which doesn't mean that they can't be outgoing and spontaneous in a smaller, well known group of people. They are usually people that feel tired or worn out after socializing and need some time alone to re-energize.
EXTROVERTS
Usually people who gain a lot of energy on other people, places or in general things around them. They love spending time with others and need a lot of socializing in order to feel good.
AMBIVERTS
People who feel like they don't really fit in with either of these categories. Ambiverts are people who fall in the middle of the spectrum and don't lean towards one or the other end of it. These people might feel introverted at one moment but then feel extroverted the next.
)%20(3).png)
The image above shows some statements categorized by; introvert, ambivert and extrovert. These statements can help you determine where you see yourself fitting in. Knowing where you fall in this spectrum can help you determine how much social time you might need and how much you are able to handle without draining your energy. Knowing more about your personality style can teach you more about your emotional needs and your ideal self-care toolkit, but don't let it hold you back from opportunities or experiences.
Assessing your Social Health
)%20(Banner%20(Landscape))%20(1).png)
Now that you got more insight in your personal needs when it comes to social health and have taken a deeper look at the state of your social health, your understanding of it should be quite good.
Let's hope most of you have found a balance in their social health. If not, you might have realized now why you have been feeling off, and we want to offer some tips on how to improve your social health.
Improving your Social Health
Fun Facts about social well-being
.png)
Most people need 6 hours of social connection to improve their well-being.
Physical touch with loved ones can improve your health
Socially isolated people are more susceptible to illness.
Cholesterol levels go up when people lack social contact with friends or family.
People who maintain their social network and support system perform better under stress.
Adults who have a strong social support network have a lower risk of developing a variety of serious health problems.
A robust social network can boost one's self-esteem and improve one's mood.
Laughter is beneficial to one's health.
Social media
The use of social media has become ingrained in our daily routines. Nowadays we use social platforms to keep in touch with each other, which is a great thing! We can keep in touch with loved ones and this enables us to make and maintain connections from anywhere in the world. However, it's important to remember that social media will never be a substitute for face-to-face interaction.
If the impact of social media is something that interests you and you would like to know more about how it can affect your social well-being or mental health in general. I highly suggest you watch the TED talks below.