Social wellness is a concept that encompasses your relationships with those around you and your relationship with yourself. Essentially, if you can maintain individuality while actively taking part in the world around you as a part of the greater picture of humankind, you are socially well. This often creates more excellent care for your community, larger society, and the people around you.
Many people overlook social wellness as an essential part of their overall well-being. In reality, this pillar of health is just as important as physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. When you surround yourself with genuine relationships, healthy friendships, and lovely connections with the people you regularly interact with, it ultimately improves your life.
Signs of Social Wellness Most People Overlook
Social wellness can improve other aspects of your well-being. Do you think you’re socially well? How can you tell? Here are six signs of social wellness most people overlook.
Assertiveness Without Aggression
A lot of people struggle with assertiveness. Essentially, this is the ability to stand up for yourself without feeling afraid or ashamed and without apologizing. When you’re capable of doing this, you’ve achieved some degree of impressive social wellness.
For some, assertiveness can teeter over into aggression, as many people struggle with the conflict of being assertive. Crossing this line can lead to passive aggression or direct aggression, which is not the same as being assertive.
Traits Of Assertiveness That Reflect Social Wellness:
Research shows that you’re assertive if you have the following traits and capabilities:
You don’t experience any negative emotions when you communicate boundaries and needs. You can maintain comfortable and positive relationships with the people around you. You’re well aware of your rights. You feel free to express your desires, emotions, and thoughts. You don’t bottle up your thoughts, so you don’t get resentful and angry about your needs not being met. When you do experience anger, you have control over it and can express it productively. You’re willing to compromise with the people around you without reducing your rights. You know a good mix of verbal and non-verbal forms of assertiveness and can utilize both as needed. You’ll easily differentiate between assertiveness, aggression, and passive-aggression. You don’t feel ashamed for expressing your needs; set healthy boundaries without apologizing.
2. Respectful Treatment Of Others
The ability to treat the people around you with respect is a huge sign of social wellness. It means you have excellent or comfortable relationships with the people around you and are happy to be the “bigger person” in times of unfair conflict. You don’t feel threatened by the people around you and have no interest in bringing them down for any reason.
Respect is a reasonably nuanced topic. It doesn’t mean agreeing with everyone all the time. It doesn’t mean allowing people to walk over you or always letting them have their way. And it certainly doesn’t mean giving space or compromises with those who have abhorrent or inherently negative, harmful views and intentions.
Instead, respecting others means knowing the rights of all human beings and knowing that these people, no matter who or what they are, deserve those rights. It also means having positive interactions with others and respecting their boundaries, needs, and communication.
3. Well-Balanced Social And Personal Time
Everyone must balance their “me-time” …
