Being social is part of being human, and it’s nice to have a good set of friends, co-workers, and family members with whom you regularly relate. Holding a special place among those relationships are the groups of individuals who make up your support system – that network of people whom you can rely upon for practical advice and emotional support. These are the people whom you can count on to be “there” for you. The presence of support systems has been found to be associated with better physical and mental health.
While this may appear to be a rather simple and obvious concept, it is not always an element of every person’s life. While an individual is building a career and/or family, there may need to be a greater degree of focus on those tasks rather than relationships. In fact, some people value strength and independence during these stages of life so much that relationships actually suffer.
The reality is that everyone needs a support system at some points of their lives – whether they recognize this or not. Having the availability of a support system and nurturing it should be an ongoing process, not one that you start to implement during times of crisis. It is also not a one-way process. If you have a support system, there is a strong likelihood that others will call upon you for support, recommendations, guidance, and even esteem building. Thus, a major way to ensure that people will be there for you is for you to be there for them.
People don’t often do a self-audit of their relationships to assess whether they have a support system made up of individuals who are nurturing, on your side, and competent for helping during times of need. If you do an honest self-appraisal and find that area of your life to be lacking, I encourage you to do a proactive job of reaching out to others whom you know and would be good to know better – but also broaden your number of relationships by volunteering, taking a class, joining a club or organizations that attracts people with similar interests as you, and consider whether you can do a better job of deepening some of your current quality relationships. Don’t believe that having a support system reflects a lack of strength, and don’t assume that you won’t ever need a support system. You will, and you probably do – to a greater or lesser extent – right now.