Whether you realize it or not, there is significant impact of relationships on your well-being; good relationships have a positive impact, and bad relationships have a negative impact.
Numerous studies have supported that claim, so we should take this into account. Well, that impact is so profound that it can either promote or wreck your overall health (i.e., physical, mental, and emotional) in the long run.
Impact of relationships on your well-being
In this article, we are going to discuss the impact of relationships on your well-being, i.e., how good relationships promote your well-being. And how bad relationships deteriorate your well-being, in detail, step-by-step:
GOOD RELATIONSHIP
A good relationship is when you can share and talk about anything, and the other person understands and supports you in that. Both sides should act with respect, trust, and honesty, and neither side should want to harm or hurt the other. As a couple, you both have the power to make decisions and live freely. Good relationships are more about commitments than boundaries.
Before exploring the positive impact of relationships on your well-being, let’s discuss some basic characteristics of a good relationship:
Trust:
Your relationship simply can’t go very far if trust is missing. Trust, belief, and faithfulness from both sides are some of the main foundations of a good relationship. So always put in the effort to have and maintain trust in your relationship. Once trust issues started evolving in a relationship, they badly affected it. So always try to be trustworthy with your partner to make your bond even stronger.
Respect:
Love alone is not sufficient for a good relationship, as you both should have respect for each other. Always show respect for each other’s privacy, decisions, wishes, etc. Don’t criticize or try to change your partner for any reason. Just accept every quality and flaw of your partner, i.e., accept him or her the way he or she is.
Honesty:
Honesty also helps build trust and respect in a relationship. Whatever the matter is, just be honest with your partner. Never cheat, lie, or hide anything (especially something big) from your partner. Honestly, it literally helps clarify everything, and this reduces the chances of having any misunderstandings in a relationship.
Understanding:
You may have no idea how love, care, and understanding of each other’s feelings and wishes can take your relationship to another level. To be honest, life is not always smooth and pleasant. You may experience ups and downs many times in your lifetime, and this sometimes affects your behavior for a while, i.e., not being in a good mood or feeling sad or angry. But if you have a good understanding of your partner, that phase gets passed easily.
Open communication:
In a good relationship, you can talk and express your feelings about anything with your partner. And the other partner understands you without judging you. It doesn’t mean you both should always have to agree on every single decision; it’s just how you make a way out where both agree on happiness.
THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF RELATIONSHIPS ON YOUR WELL-BEING
Here, we’ll discuss the positive impact of relationships on your well-being. Not only do good relationships make you happier and more sure of yourself, but they also help your immune system. Now, let’s talk about how good relationships affect your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
On emotional health:
Emotions and feelings are one of the first things affected by how your partner treats you. A good and healthy relationship boosts your emotional health. The love, care, and support you’ll get from your partner will simply make you feel better and more cheerful. And hence, you just love to spend time with each other.
- It uplifts your mood and even makes you feel happy.
- It empowers you to get going and make decisions with full confidence.
- It helps with the clarity of your thoughts and feelings.
On mental health:
If you are happy and feeling good, it also affects the functioning of your brain, i.e., more focus, more attentiveness, and even better behavior. And this is how good relationships have a great impact on your mental well-being.
- It helps you get over your weak points and improve your abilities.
- It gives you the satisfaction and sense of support that someone is there to always support you.
- It reduces anxiety and makes you feel relaxed, as someone understands you well.
On physical health:
Yes! That’s true. Good relationships also have a positive impact on your physical health. Stress in the long run (which means higher cortisol levels) majorly disrupts your sleep, hormones, and immune system, which makes it the main root cause of many diseases. But thanks to good relationships, which make you feel happy and good about yourself and hence can also lengthen your life span.
- It helps your body heal faster, for example, through your partner’s care and even your own willpower to heal for your partner. Both work wonders to help you heal faster from any injury, disease, or trauma.
- Less stress simply means a better immune system.
- It also helps reduce high blood pressure.
BAD RELATIONSHIP
As we have just discussed good relationships, everything appears to be going well. But how about bad relationships? Damn! They just make you feel like hell. The feelings of insecurity, dishonesty, and even violence can make you feel stressed, lonely, and depressed, which is called a bad relationship. That relationship can also snatch your self-worth from you and even make you feel like a spineless person. A bad relationship is more about bad behavior, no support, and even no understanding between you and your partner, whether it’s your fault or your partner’s.
Again, before exploring the negative impact of relationships on your well-being, let’s discuss some basic characteristics of a bad relationship:
Disrespect:
Disrespecting and making fun of your partner’s choices, feelings, and wishes can completely tear them from the inside. And this makes them feel empty and worthless, which even lowers their self-esteem. This type of behavior can erode your relationship on a regular basis. This is one of the main signs that your relationship is in a bad state.
Control:
Always remember that controlling behavior can take you nowhere. If one partner makes all the decisions about what to eat, what to wear, where to go, and what to shop for their partner, then, believe me, this is toxic for your relationship. That means one partner highly controls the life of the other partner without considering his or her feelings and emotions.
Over-possessiveness:
I know a little possessiveness is good for a relationship, but if it gets out of hand, your relationship turns in a bad direction. In general, if you have trust issues and feel insecure about your partner, the feeling of over-possessiveness increases. But remember, it can badly destroy your relationship.
Lack of Communication:
Lack of communication and not sharing what you are feeling with your partner can lead to major misunderstandings in a relationship. As a result, bonds and feelings of mutual understanding weaken, putting your relationship in a poor state.
Violence:
Violence (i.e., slapping or hitting your partner) is a big no in a relationship for sure. Being in a relationship doesn’t mean you have the full authority to control and do whatever you want with your partner. This turns your relationship to a very dirty side and completely disturbs the environment of your house.
THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF RELATIONSHIPS ON YOUR WELL-BEING
Here, we’ll discuss the negative impact of relationships on your well-being. A bad relationship can cause persistent sadness and anxiety and even deteriorate your overall well-being. Now, let’s check out how badly that affects your overall well-being, which is well described below:
On emotional health:
A bad relationship, which means bad behavior or not showing any interest in your partner, can badly affect your feelings and emotions. There is no love, care, or support in this relationship, which disturbs your emotional health. This just makes you feel grumpy, irritated, and frustrated with your partner.
- It makes you feel sad and lonely all the time.
- It makes you feel worthless, with no purpose in life.
- It can badly affect your behavior, i.e., make you feel angry, nervous, or rude, causing instability in your behavior.
On mental health:
A bad relationship affects not just your emotional health but also your mental and physical health. You may lose your ability, self-worth, and confidence in a bad relationship. As stress and frustration surround you all the time, you may not be able to focus and plan well for your career and future.
- You may lose interest in literally everything.
- It even makes you feel empty or void from the inside.
- It can cause anxiety and even increase the risk of depression.
On physical health:
Abusive language, bad behavior, and not taking care of your partner’s feelings and emotions can put you under too much stress and make you nervous all the time. If you are in this relationship for too long (for whatever reason), your physical health, i.e., both the quality and quantity of your life, will be badly affected.
- It can cause obesity, as some people tend to eat more and be in their rooms all the time under stress.
- It also makes you more likely to have a heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other health problems.
- It can badly affect your immune system and even your digestive system.
I hope this article helps you understand the connection between relationships and well-being, i.e., the impact of relationships on your well-being. So start putting in efforts to maintain good relationships if you really want to promote your well-being, as there is significant impact of relationships on your well-being.
