Recently looking into behavioral psychology and it's links to our personal happiness and healthy habits I have become much more aware of what only can be described as mistakes that prevent us from fully being at peace, rested and most importantly happy.
It is argued that there are simple choices that an individual makes each
and every day, whether to originally be perceived as relevant or not, that can
significantly impact the way we feel both mentally and physically.
This particular topic is on connections.
I topic that I feel I have previously discussed is that of the fear that
holds us back from the things that we grasp at and desire to have the most.
Many people allow this fear to defeat them and as a result find themselves
avoiding deep and meaningful connections that can only prohibit themselves from
this happiness. As a species, the human experience is centered around our
unique social requirements and connection is more often than not the thing that
provides a value and meaning to our life. We are quite simply just wired this
way.
Examples of this feature through to those with strong social ties who
were found to be much healthier and have a lower risk of death1. In addition to this, it was actually found that as age increases,
those people with these stronger social ties tend to live longer2,
with some people even jumping to the conclusion that friendship can even help
you to fight cancer3.
In fact the actual benefits of deep relationships extend to marriage as
well.
Being in a long-term relationship can actually decrease the risk of
certain mental health issues4, including:
- depression
- suicide
- substance abuse
As well as this, one study of almost 6,000 people5 found that
marriage actually increased longevity, whilst never marrying was the strongest
predictor of premature death.
To conclude, multiple stories (Okinawa: an exception to the social gradient of life expectancy in Japan6, Siblings of Okinawan centenarians share lifelong mortality advantages7 and Secret of Eternal Youth; Teaching from the Centenarian Hot Spots8) that show strong family ties as being one of the primary reasons the people in Okinawa, Japan have incredibly longevity despite being one of the poorest prefectures in the country.
So what do all these different studies actually mean?
Well, it demonstrates that connection and belonging are essential for a healthy and happy life. Whether that be friendship, marriage or family - it is required, as human nature, to have close connections in order to be healthy and ultimately happy.
So what ever it is that you decide to do, make sure it makes you happy.
All my love,
Abbie-June x
A Bundle of Links I Used
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/425958
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15965141
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2224168
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21200073
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16905719
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11710357
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16611700
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822182/
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