We have all experienced complicated situations where we need our loved ones to move forward. This social support plays the role of “crutch” because it helps us recover and prevents us from going back in the next steps.
It seems obvious that having a good social network will help us in our lives, right?, knowing that we can count on those that are important to us comforts us, in fact, from a young time we seek to build relationships with others. Knowing the reasons that lead us to this, we seek others to love and understand us.
- Intuitively you might think that social support is the number of social relationships of an individual.
- But to think of it as the number of links we have seems a very uncertain simplification.
- We will also add the people with which we have such links.
- Relationship.
- Whether family members.
- Co-workers.
- Etc.
- We already have more information.
- But we still feel it’s very little.
What if we add the consequences that the person gets from this social support?In fact, social support is all that, it understands the quantity, quality and characteristics of social relationships, as well as how the individual perceives them, in this influence:
Having a good social support network will help us maintain our strengthened psychological health; in fact, protection has proven to be an important factor in dealing with stress, mitigating its negative effects on our health, both mentally and physically. affect our psychological well-being?
The advice we receive from people who are important to us can influence our appreciation of the situations we face, on the other hand, our self-esteem and sense of control can be developed through the emotional support our loved ones give us. In this way, we will be stronger to face what is to come.
Therefore, if our social support network helps us regulate our emotional responses and strengthens us when we try to act in the face of conflict, it helps us to deal with things in the best way, it will also improve our personal growth.
However, there are also times when our own social network is a source of anxiety and stress, this occurs when the people who are part of it behave excessively protectively towards us, preventing us from implementing our coping mechanisms in the face of the situation. situations in which we live.
Chronic diseases are themselves a stressor, both for sufferers and their loved ones, for example, the effects of acquired brain damage on the patient’s relatives were studied, it has also been found that this injury leads to a significant change in the lives of patients, who usually have to change their lifestyle , but not only that, they should also undergo treatment that can be quite exhausting as the case may be.
The social support they receive will greatly influence the disease, it has been shown that a low level of this type of support can lead people to adopt healthy habits to a lesser extent, this change in behavior related to our health is very important, mainly because of the evolution that this type of disease can have.
In addition, if patients perceive the social support they receive as positive, they will continue their treatments more effectively, this will improve their health and they will also find their well-being satisfactory. This social support network is so important that interventions are carried out. with patients’ families and people diagnosed with severe and chronic mental illness.
But not only are we talking about the support of your loved ones, social support also includes health professionals who are in contact with the patient, the relationship between the doctor and the patient is as a key factor in the objective improvement of health.
That is, when the professional is able to adequately transmit to the patient information about his disease and treatments, he shows greater adherence to it, so the symptoms of the disease are more likely to improve and have a positive impact on the patient’s mood.
Social support is certainly a protective factor for our physical and mental health, but not always. It is necessary that the support offered by our social network strengthens our self-esteem and that we consider ourselves rewarding, if on the contrary this support is intended to protect us or if we feel it is not adequate, the effect will be the important thing is to know the benefits that social support can offer us and let it act when we need it.