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Humans are naturally social creatures, so strong connections to others are one of the most important factors in our mental health.
Healthy relationships with friends, family members, co-workers and acquaintances can help you to feel connected, have greater resilience in the face of challenges, and even make you physically healthier.
How people choose to form friendships and relationships can be very different. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach.
In general, a good social connection can look like:
A good social connection can be a great source of comfort. We may feel connected to people physically close to us, like our neighbours or house members, or to people who we connect with over the internet or the phone.
What is loneliness?
Social connection isn’t about how many friends we have, it’s about how happy we are with the connections we have. We’re all different, and what feels like the right amount of friends for one person might feel like far too many or too few for others. It’s also totally ok to be ok with very few or no social connections if that feels right for you.
As far back as we can trace, humans have thrived in social groups and relied on their community for safety, a sense of identity and good health. It’s no coincidence we often say ‘a burden shared is a burden halved’.
Social connectedness can boost our mental health by:
Science shows that social connectedness is actually a critical pillar when it comes to good physical health as well.
Studies have found that feeling lonely is as bad for us as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness has been found to disrupt sleep patterns, elevate blood pressure and increase the stress hormone cortisol.
On the other hand, good social connection helps us recover from disease and illness faster and strengthens our immune system.
Making new friends can be hard or sometimes even feel downright impossible. Especially as we get older, it might seem like there are fewer opportunities to meet new people and that people are more closed off to new friendships.
While it might take more work, if you’re ready to get started on building new connections, there’s a range of different ways to go about it.
It can take time to form friendships and deep connections, so it’s important to be patient. It also takes practice and a little bit of confidence and vulnerability to reach out to someone new, so don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t work straight away.
Some of the ways you might like to meet people and form connections include:
If you’re into sports, joining a gym or sports team can be an excellent way to meet new people and form new connections while also improving your physical health.
Some gyms offer group classes, such as Zumba, HIIT, boxing or pilates, so you can pick a class according to your interests. Joining a sports team can be an even better way to meet people who are passionate about the same sport as you and build a sense of community around your shared interests.
If you’d like to join a gym or sports team, you can research gyms and sports teams near you by searching ‘gyms near me’ or ‘join a sports team near me’.
Social clubs are informal groups of people, usually built around a shared interest, like reading, playing trivia, gardening, games, or almost anything else. There are thousands of social clubs around Australia, likely near you. Websites like Meetup make it easy to find local social clubs, so check out what’s near you and try and go in with an open mind. You can also look for social club events on Facebook using ‘find events near me’ feature. ”
Reaching out to someone you already know can be a great way to rekindle or strengthen your friendship. Plus, reconnecting with someone you already know is much easier than forming a new friendship. You probably already have some shared interests and experiences to talk about. Just because you haven’t heard from them in a while doesn’t mean they don’t want to connect with you. Life can often get busy, and they might appreciate you reaching out to them.
Besides having a positive impact on the community, volunteering is a great way to make new friends and connect with people who share similar interests and values. Even if you don’t have a lot of free time, dedicating a few hours a month to volunteering can help you expand your social circle and practice your social skills. You can find many volunteering opportunities on websites such as seekvolunteer or GoVolunteer where you can pick your area of interest and availability.
Joining local Facebook groups can connect you with other people in your community who share your hobbies and interests. By participating in group discussions and chatting with other group members, you can form new connections and feel like you’re part of the community. Many groups organise in-person events where you can meet other group members and build even stronger connections. You can start by searching for groups that match your interests. This could include groups focused on hobbies, events, music or politics, such as ‘Gardeners Australia’ or ‘Australia politics.’
If you have a dog, taking your dog to the park and meeting with other dog owners can be an excellent way to connect with people who share your love for dogs. If you live nearby, you can suggest taking your dogs for a walk together, meeting with them in a park or going for a coffee sometime.
Attending community events or group meetings can help you meet people in your area and make you feel part of the local community. You can search for events or groups that match your interest by simply searching ‘community events near me’ in the search engine or checking events near you listed on Facebook. You can also research events listed on MeetUp and Eventbrite and filter according to your interests and availability.
Forming new friendships takes time and effort, so don’t expect anything to happen overnight. Different friendships can be built on different things, including having fun, a common interest, energy levels, time spent together or shared histories. However, most friendships share a few things in common - trust, respect for each other, and authenticity.
Some of the ways you might also like to try:
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