Relationship advice video
In this short relationship advice video, Mark talks about how important relationships are for both our physical and mental health. He talks about findings from the nurses health study, involving over 50,000 women, that showed improved healthy aging in women with good social connection. Mark talks about why having friends is in a large part about being a good friend, and how this is largely down to how we treat others. See also his article on How to make friends
Transcript of Relationship Advice video
Relationships - and I don’t just mean romantic relationships, but friendships and connections of all kinds - are a great buffer and boon to physical health, as well as mental health. People who have the most social connections tend to be people who live the longest and have better immune responses. There was a Harvard ‘nurses’ health’ study which found that women who had the most friendships and social connections were much less susceptible to the ravages of old age and were much less likely to suffer from Type 2 diabetes or heart disease or any illness at all. Of course, there are other factors in health, but being connected to people in life is a huge health bonus. And how do we do that?
Well, part of having friends is, of course, being a good friend. Relationships matter to us - and we can tell that by how upset we become when relationships go wrong. It’s very important to be connected to people. So learning to give and take - to not be exploitative in relationships, but not just to give to the other person, either; friendship is about reciprocation. It’s not just about me doing something for you all the time, or you doing something for me all the time.
So people who have lots of social connections tend to be good and skilled at making friends and dealing with people, even when other people are being difficult or tricky. Having friendships, having good romantic relationships, and having good work relationships means that the whole of life becomes more enjoyable and healthier.
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