There are all sorts of factors that contribute to our well-being, the least of which is NOT the quality of our relationships. I would go so far as to say that if you want to improve your health, take time to examine your relationships and assess the quality of your key relationships. Do you have at least one person or a small handful of people in your life with whom you have a authentic, connected, mutually supportive relationship? If so, I am willing to bet that this kind of relationship nourishes you and allows you to become more of who you are with them and the rest of the world.
Ø Good relationships are loving, caring, supportive, attuned.
Ø Bad relationships are distant and lack trust.
And relationships have the power for impacting both our mental and physical health.
Healthy relationships wire our brains for a host of capabilities including:
- Ability to regulate our own emotions
- Improve problem solving capability
- Deal with stress
- Be resilient
Unhealthy relationships tend to build "bad things" or "faulty wiring" into our equipment:
- Over-reactive (fight or flight) responses
- Impulsiveness
- Distrust
- "Squirrley" thinking (gremlins)
Sometimes these kinds of relationships have been termed toxic. Do you have toxic relationships in your life? How can you take care of yourself? What can you do to change the dynamic of these kinds of relationships? What kind of boundaries do you employ? Are your boundaries to squishy or too rigid or just right?
If you want to improve your health, one thing that you might want to consider is the quality of your relationships starting with the quality of the relationship you have with yourself!
Contact me if you think this would be a fruitful coaching topic for you!