I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say things like, “Why would she be with someone like that?” and “Doesn’t he know there are better girls out there?”. This phenomenon goes beyond dating relationships to unhealthy friendships, old familial patterns that have a negative impact, and so on. With a background in psychology, I find it impossible to make a distinction between physical health and mental health. And I have found that one of the keys to physical health is having healthy relationships.
There are so many tangents I could go on in discussing the impact of mental health on physical wellness, but I’m focusing on relationships in this post.
I mess up quotes all the time, but there is an old one that says something like, “you are the people you surround yourself with.” People often take this a step further and challenge you to think about the 5 people you’re closest with because chances are you’re a lot like them. My hope is that you surround yourself with people you admire and respect. Growing up, my mom often told me that a person is lucky to be able to fill up one hand with true friends and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found this to be pretty accurate.
Who do you choose to date? Who do you grab drinks with? Who do you go on walks with? Who do you go out to eat with? These are all choices that impact who you are, who you’re becoming, and believe it or not, your overall well-being.
This may seem random to talk about on a health-focused website but the connection between the two is very real. The ability to take care of your body is directly related to whether you’re able to take care of you. And surrounding yourself with people who impact you negatively can even bring out aches and pains – because it is often these negative relationships where poor communication exists. And if it’s not expressed with your mind, your body will express it, and that is often with pain. Taking care of you can mean making some tough choices about whether the people you’re spending time with bring out the best you. Because in recognizing that you deserve to have this, you realize on a very deep level you also deserve to have a healthy physical body.
Again, I could talk about this at much more length, but the main point is that if you’re able to surround yourself with people who believe in you even when you can’t, you’re probably going to be able to sustain healthy eating habits and healthy exercise patterns which directly influence your physical well-being. How about that? YOU can make yourself happier, healthier, and fitter!
