Everyone knows that having healthy relationships promote well being, but how, exactly do they do that? A new study looks at how, exactly, relationships promote well-being. 
Yesterday I posted the 5 factors that researchers say constitute thriving; that is, living a deeply satisfying, meaningful, healthy and abundant life. This latest research finds that relationships promote thriving in two important ways. According to the study…
The first important function of relationships is to support thriving through adversity, not only by buffering individuals from negative effects of stress, but also by enabling them to flourish either because of or in spite of their circumstances. “Relationships serve an important function of not simply helping people return to baseline, but helping them to thrive by exceeding prior baseline levels of functioning,” explains lead researcher Brooke Feeney.
The second important function of relationships is to support thriving in the absence of adversity by promoting full participation in life opportunities for exploration, growth, and personal achievement. Supportive relationships help people thrive in this context by enabling them to embrace and pursue opportunities that enhance positive well-being, broaden and build resources, and foster a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Read More
So having healthy relationships promotes thriving both by providing the support and encouragement that helps people grow stronger in times of adversity and by challenging people to take advantage of enriching experiences that facilitate growth and personal development when things are going well.
Do your relationships help you thrive? To discover more ways you can have the kinds of relationships the enable you to live a more abundant life, contact the Pastoral Solutions Institute (740-266-6461 and learn more about our Catholic Tele-Counseling Practice today!