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5 Benefits of Healthy Relationships

Why Healthy Relationships Are So Important

As humans, the relationships we form with other people are vital to our mental and emotional well-being and even our survival.

Humans have an inherent desire to be close to other people — to connect and build relationships. While a man talking to a volleyball while stranded on an island (Remember the movie?) isn't necessarily "healthy," his compulsion for company is. That's because healthy relationships, whether romantic, friendships or familial, can help make life healthier.

Focus on having a network of social support.

— Sheehan D. Fisher, PhD

"Social support is a very important part of being a human, and therefore when social relationships break down or are damaged, it can have a big impact on our mental health and well-being," says Northwestern Medicine Psychologist Sheehan D. Fisher, PhD, who is a relationship expert.

And it shouldn't come down to just one relationship.

"It's important to not focus on trying to get everything you need from one relationship," says Dr. Fisher. "Instead, focus on having a network of social support with a variety of different types of relationships — from romantic, to friendship to associate — to hold up your well-being and quality of life."

A positive relationship can be shared between any two people who support, encourage and help each other practically as well as emotionally. According to Dr. Fisher, the most important part of a healthy relationship is healthy communication.

Here are Dr. Fisher's tips for healthy communication in a relationship:

• Remember that you're not speaking to yourself. Try to understand where the other person is coming from and how they understand the world when communicating with them.
• Be willing to hear something that doesn't fall within what you've predetermined to be true.
• Listen without preparing your rebuttal or response.

In no particular order, people in healthy relationships tend to:

• Listen to each other and communicate without judgement. This includes communicating effectively about sex and intimacy for people in romantic relationships, to ensure that both parties are satisfied within their sexuality.
• Trust and respect each other.
• Consistently make time for each other.
• Remember details about each other's lives.
• Engage in healthy activities together.
• Work collaboratively as a team rather than as two self-serving individuals.
• Be disciplined. It's easy to let your hair down and show your worst side around people you are close with, which is why the phrase "You always hurt the ones you love" rings true to many. People in healthy relationships have the discipline to not treat their counterpart poorly just because they are close.
• Be healthy and whole on their own instead of searching for their identity or healing in another person.
• Avoid focusing on what they want to get from the other person but instead focus on how the relationship can be mutually beneficial.