Considering Friendships and Relationships
- newwavehosa
- Oct 29, 2024
- 3 min read
You may have read this blog post’s title and thought, “Woah, what does that even mean? Why and what should I consider about my friendships and relationships?” Well, our relationships with others have a much larger effect on our mental health than we know, understand, and often care to admit.
I want you to ask yourself a question, “How do my relationships/friendships make me feel?” Consider all your friendships, all your relationships with any other person. Do they make you happy? Do they provide good in your life? How do they affect your mental health? You may be thinking, what is the point she is trying to make? I want you to consider all of these questions and ask yourself these questions because all of our relationships and friendships tend to have a huge effect on our mental health. You may not even realize it, but toxic relationships/friendships have a negative effect on your mental health whereas supportive ones have a positive effect.
The following are some questions you should ask yourself about your relationships/friendships:
Is this friendship/relationship bringing me happiness?
How do you feel when you are with this person? Oftentimes, if you aren’t happy when you think about your relationship/friendship, you may want to consider its effects on your mental health. It is completely healthy not to be jumping with joy every time you think about or are with a certain person. However, if you aren’t generally content/happy, that may not be okay.
Do I feel respected within this friendship/relationship?
Respect is the base of every relationship/friendship. If you feel that there is not a layer of respect present, there may be an issue. Throughout conflict, happiness, jokes, and everything else within a friendship/relationship, you should always be feeling respected.
How would I feel if I lost this friendship/relationship?
Sometimes the best way to consider the impact of a relationship/friendship is thinking about how you would feel if you lost it. If it feels like a weight would be lifted off of your shoulders, there may be something to consider about the relationship/friendship. If you have a feeling of sadness or despair, it means you are most likely quite content with the relationship/friendship.
Am I a good person within this friendship/relationship?
We keep evaluating the other person within the relationship/friendship, but it is also crucial we look at ourselves. I am sure that you would hate to realize you are the person causing someone else the feelings we try to avoid so much. In this situation, question yourself and reflect on how your behaviour/actions may affect the other person.
When faced with a situation where you may realize a friendship/relationship is having a negative effect on your mental health, it may be difficult to get yourself out of that situation. The best way to change your situation is communication. It is possible that the other person may not be intentionally making you feel that way, or may not even be aware of their actions. Always begin with communicating the issue and discussing it. If after communicating, you still feel that no progress was made, communicate your wishes and move from there. The worst thing you can do in this situation would be to “ghost” the other person. This leaves everyone with a feeling of uncertainty and confusion.
Relationships and friendships are hard to navigate, so do not feel as if you should know everything about them! If you take away one thing from this blog post, be it acknowledging how your mental health is affected by your relationships/friendships!
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@newwave.connections
