Build A Strong Social Support Network, for Balance & Success

  (Edited from: Mayo Clinic staff article)

     Surrounding yourself with supportive family, friends and co-workers can have a positive effect on your mental well-being. A strong social support network can be critical to help you through the stress of tough times, whether you've had a bad day at work or a year filled with loss or chronic illness. It is never too soon-nor too late-to cultivate important relationships that become your social support network.

     What is a social support network?

     A social support network is different from a support group. A social support network is made up of friends, family and peers, while a support group is generally a structured meeting run by a mental health professional. Although both can play an important role in times of stress, a social support network is something you can develop when you are not under stress, providing the comfort of knowing that your friends are there for you if you need them.

     You don't need to formalize your support network with regular meetings or an official leader. A coffee break with a friend at work, a quick chat with a neighbor, a phone call to your sister, even a visit to church are all ways to reduce stress while fostering lasting relationships with the people close to you.

(From: Sylvia Henderson)

     You may have "friends and family" consisting of varying definitions and levels of intimacy. With the advent of online social networks, the word "friend" has come to define anyone who connects with you through a network. As society admits that the traditional, American, 1950's-defined nuclear family (father, mother, and 2.5 children) has long been just one form of "family", family-in this document and in my workshops-represents whatever definition and reality are true for YOU. When you have a strong social support network you have people who meet your needs at varying levels-online connections, casual in-person acquaintances, professional colleagues with whom you interact only at work, friends for fun, special more-intimate friends (not sexual), specialists (doctors, therapists, and other professionals), people who raised and cared for you, blood relations, love relationships (includes sexual intimacy), and more. We need healthy interpersonal relationships of all levels.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE from MayoClinic.com on managing stress by building a strong social support network. Links to many other well-researched articles on managing stress and life-balance are at this site. This is more than just pop-psychology.