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Evidence show that good relationships with family, friends, colleagues and the wider community are important for mental wellbeing.

Many of us would like to spend more time with the people who are most important to us but sometimes life just gets in the way of that. We must make time to connect with the people that matter to us. By nurturing these relationships we feel happier and more secure, giving a better sense of purpose.

A 2002 study of 222 students in the US found that the happiest amongst the group had stronger social relationships than those who were less happy.

Some tips to stay connected:

  • Make time each day to connect with your family, friends and colleagues. This could include ‘family time’ that is a fixed time to connect each day
  • Arrange a day out with friends you may not have connected with recently. Most people connect on social media sites like Facebook but a face to face contact spending your time with your friends is so much more meaningful and beneficial than a “like” or “comment” on Facebook.
  • Reduce your screen time when you are in company. Put the phone away, close your laptop, turn off the TV and have a chat.
  • Try connecting with someone new today. Talk to the person beside you on the train or in the shop. This conversation may mean even more to the person you connect with than you realise.
  • Leave your desk for your lunch and sit with a colleague catching up on non-work matters.
  • It can be as simple as a smile at a passer-by.

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The Wellbeing Network - The 5 Ways of Wellbeing

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The Wellbeing Network, West Cork
Contact:
National Learning Network Bantry t: 027 51027  e: wellbeingnetwork@nln.ie
Kevin O'Shanahan t: 086 7872481  e: kevin.oshanahan@hse.ie