In the book, The Happiness Advantage ; Principle 7, Shawn Achor claims that our need for social support links to biology of the human body, not just mentally. I agree with the theory that our bodies are linked and impacted by social connections. In the passage he states that if we lack social connections it can influence how our body functions, not just our mentalities. Social connections and interactions impact not only one’s mentality, which can lead to effects of someone’s body physically, but it impacts an individual’s blood pressures, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune systems. It is important we keep positive people in our environment. People we keep around us influence our mentality which affects our moods, attitudes, motivation, and happiness and those all wire to the biology of a human body.
When I retook a class I had two different teachers. One teacher was very strict, they weren’t very helpful, and the whole course just really stressed me out because of the lack of communication.I felt negative and unmotivated when it came to that class and I really just didn’t do well and it messed with my mental state; I was always in a bad mood through the whole day because of the vibe that was given off by the environment. The second time I took the course I had a very helpful, cheerful, explanatory,and organized teacher. I actually felt motivated to do my work in that class and all my other classes because of the positive energy that was given off. The class impacted me, I was always in a good mood and had a positive take-it-on type of mentality for everything I did. I read about how social bonds can affect one’s stress, motivation, and focus. The old professor brought me stress, and it impacted my mood, motivation, and focus as well but once I retook the course with a professor better for my learning I became more motivated and my understanding was better because they had very clear but simple communication. The theory that social bonds can affect one’s stress and motivation is correct. When you have good bonds with positive people you feel more relief.
Studies also show this, lack of connections, social support, communication, friendships, and interactions impacts mental health which is tied to our bodies.Shawn Achor (2011) in The Happiness Advantage states that , “When we make a positive social connection, the pleasure-inducing hormone oxytocin is released in our blood stream, immediately reducing anxiety and improving concentration and focus”(p.177).This research supports that lacking social connection can cause anxiety and higher blood pressure. Isolation, depression, anxiety, and being antisocial is something many people struggle with; one in five adults suffer from a mental illness(1). I personally struggle with mental issues and when I am alone and closed off I tend to feel unmotivated, slow, and just out of everything but when I am around positive people,my mood and attitude changes and I become more motivated due to my happiness. Keeping good, motivational, and positive people who are good for us in our environments as a constant type of support can impact our health and ways we function.
In relation to this, social ties influence the way people act and express their emotions. This can affect the way we take care of ourselves and if we develop bad habits. The people around us influence us so much more than what we realize, many of us are blind to it at times as well. In a previous by Debra Umberson and Jennifer Montez it is stated that, “Social ties can instill a sense of responsibility and concern for others that then lead individuals to engage in behaviors…”( Social Relationships and Health: A Flash Point for Health Policy , 2011, para 8) . This shows that the people around us influence our emotions which lead to our habits and behaviors.Our mental health is how we think, and we act on it, and it can lead to bad health habits.
We need to have social bonds to survive and get through life. The social support we have in our life can impact the way we go on a daily basis and even how long we live.In another study, it is also stated that , “When we enjoy strong social support , on the other hand, we can accomplish feats of resilience , and even extend the length of our lives.One study found that people who received social support during the six months after a heart attack were three times more likely to survive”(Shawn, 2011, p.177). This supports the fact that our bodies naturally rely on social connections because it can impact the brain and body relations. When we have that mentality in our brain it connects to our body health. We all have daily habits, the majority of people either go to school or work depending on our age and situation so these places also become part of our environment. In relation to social bonds impacting an individual’s life and death ratio , it is also stated in the Happiness Advantage , “A national survey of 24,000 workers found that men and women with few social ties were two to three times more likely to suffer from major depression than people with strong social bonds”. This is important because an impact of depression is eating disorders and suicide. It can take over someone and the way someone thinks which messes with someone’s motivation and mental health status. It is important to have strong, positive social bonds in our environment, it is what we adapt to.
Some may argue that being alone and doing things for yourself is better, and don’t rely on anyone. People can be bad influences and bring negativity to your life whether it be a blind or obvious.Yes, it isn’t healthy to heavily rely on people; you should always rely on yourself more than anyone else but having social support and good people around can build someone more and it’s good to always have people to be able to go too. Having people around you can make you more focused, motivated, and overall in a happier and healthier mindset. Being alone can get to you and it can cause you to be lonely and antisocial which can trigger anxiety, depression, trust issues, communication issues with everyone. It is important to hold on to strong and positive bonds with people in our life.
The people we keep around us also can impact how we live, think, and function. I think of the saying ‘A woman becomes the room she’s in’, meaning you adapt to the environment you keep yourself in and it becomes you. Holding onto negative connections and people messes with someone’s mental health, causing mental illness, and even causing trauma along with other health issues. The people we keep around us should always be people who make us happy and motivated. Personally speaking once again, I can say the negative environments and people I’ve been around have caused me to think a way and live with issues and trauma of past events which triggers fear of certain things. Having negative people around you can cause you to feel drained, no motivation, you can’t be yourself, and just don’t have any peace with yourself. Once I was able to leave and remove myself from that environment I have become more mature, motivated, confident, and happy.
In the final analysis, theory concludes that having social connections is a requirement of our survival. Social connections and interactions we have with people can influence our lifestyle and behaviors and having strong social bonds helps you have a more positive and healthy life. Our brains and bodies relate to each other and one thing impacts the other so when it’s a mental impact it causes our bodies to react in a way. We have such a reliability on social connections and support ; your social life plays a bigger role than you may think. It influences your habits as well and how your body is treated and how you take care of it.
