Social Support and Mental Health

This article provides an overview on social support and mental health, including specific types of social support, why social support is beneficial, and how to form greater social connections.

Key Takeaways:

• Social support is essential for mental health. Greater social support is associated with reduced anxiety, depression, loneliness, and stress, along with better self-esteem and other benefits.

• Social support can involve tangible resources, advice/information, companionship, emotional comfort, and other forms.

• You can find social support by reaching out to close family and friends, joining support groups, exploring clubs, or inquiring through local resources.

Understanding Social Support and Mental Health

Social support refers to any interpersonal relationships that provide assistance, comfort, or other functional and beneficial roles to an individual. This support can come from family, friends, coworkers, community ties, or even beloved pets. Within this, social support generally is broken down into two measurable elements: ^{[1] [2]}

• Structural: The number of social connections someone has

• Functional: The roles that these social connections have, such as:

• Emotional comfort

• Practical help

• Information/advice

• Companionship

• Affirmational support

While the amount of social support needed may differ from one person to the next, it is well-established that adequate social support is essential for mental health and overall well-being. ^[1]

Social support has many connections to mental health. For example, higher perceived social support is linked to: ^{[1] [3] [4]}

• Lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.

• Improved social and relationship functioning.

• Improved well-being and life quality.

• Better recovery from mental health conditions.

• Improved functional abilities in individuals with diagnosed mental health conditions.

Social Support vs. Integration

Social integration refers to the number of social relationships someone is involved in and the structure of the connections within those relationships. On the other hand, social support refers to the actual or perceived help or support someone has from their social connections. ^[5]

Thus, it’s possible for people to be very socially integrated, but with little perceived social support. Or, going the other way, someone may have seemingly fewer social integrations, but higher perceived social support because the quality of their relationships is high.

Why Social Support is Important for Mental Health

There are many reasons why social support is important for mental health, often explained by social support theories. One of these key reasons is that social support acts as a powerful buffer against stress. More specifically, having greater social support tends to lead to decreased perceived stress, while also providing someone with greater resources to cope with and effectively deal with stressors.^[1][5]

In addition, greater social support leads to a lower likelihood of loneliness and isolation, and also fosters a variety of positive emotions. In turn, these effects help protect against the development and maintenance of mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. ^[4]

Furthermore, the evidence for the benefits of social support on mental health can also be found through certain health markers. For example, lower social support has been shown to lead to higher stress hormones, poorer hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function, greater inflammation, and reduced immunity. In turn, these factors can lead to poorer brain and nervous system health, which negatively impacts mental well-being too. ^[5]

Types of Social Support

Social support can come from family, friends, coworkers, community ties, or even pets. There are several identified types of social support. These types are listed below, with definitions and examples: ^{[1] [2] [3] [5]}

• Instrumental Support: Practical assistance and resources to help deal with stressors or obligations. Examples include money, help with chores, transportation, and providing food.

• Informational Support: Useful information, guidance, suggestions, or advice to help deal with problems or stressful life situations. For example, giving someone advice on where to look for new jobs after a recent job loss.

• Emotional Support: A sense of love, care, assurance, compassion, and nurturance from relationships. For example, providing comfort and love to someone after going through a loss or hardship.

• Companionship Support: People to spend time and socialize with, and engage in shared hobbies or interests. For example, friends that get together to play cards or go to sporting events.

• Affectionate Support: Feeling wanted, cared for, and loved, along with affection and intimacy. This is most found within close familial relationships, such as marriages, romantic relationships, or close family bonds.

• Affirmational Support: Providing positive feedback, social validation, or recognition for accomplishments. For example, a teacher praising a student after a test, or boss congratulating an employee on a great month of work.

Social Support’s Role During COVID

Social support played a critical role during the COVID pandemic, as this was a very stressful time period for millions of individuals. Furthermore, the nature of the pandemic required social isolation, which posed a greater risk for loneliness and the negative consequences of decreased social interactions.

Research has shown that having greater social support during COVID was associated with lower perceived stress and improved overall health. This is particularly important, given that social interactions were obviously limited, but merely having the perception of greater social support was beneficial. ^[1]

Pros and Cons of Social Support

While social support might seem inherently positive, there are also potential negative aspects of social support. The pros of social support include a sense of belonging, stress reduction, emotional comfort, improved self-esteem, and practical help, among others.

However, there are possible cons of social support too, such as: ^[6]

• Privacy invasion or overstepping boundaries

• Giving unhelpful, unneeded, or inaccurate advice/information

• Criticism

• Causing distress (e.g. sadness, shame, resentment)

• Peer pressure

Finding Mental Health Social Support

There are many ways to find social support to grow your social network and improve your mental health. The following tips may help you find social support and/or grow your social network : ^[7]

• Be proactive and engaged: Reach out to family, friends, and others often

• Use your interests: Join clubs, groups, or events that have people with similar hobbies and interests

• Join a support group: There are support groups for a variety of mental health conditions, as well as everyday issues and circumstances. These groups can help you feel that you’re not alone.

• Ask for help: Places of worship, community centers, health clinics, and local libraries often have information about services, support groups, and programs. Plus, some of these places might be a source of direct social support on their own (e.g. other members at worship facilities)

Navigating Social Media for Support

With today’s technology, social media is also a possible way to gain social support. It’s best to use social media to stay in contact with individuals you already know and care about in real life. While you certainly can benefit from finding new friends or support on social media, your time spent online shouldn’t replace real-life, face-to-face interactions, as the latter are most beneficial for overall health. ^[7]

Social Support and Ongoing Mental Health Treatment

If you’re currently receiving mental health treatment, social support should maintain a top priority if it is not already. Adequate social support plays a vital role when dealing with mental health conditions. In fact, greater social support has been shown to help individuals recover faster and lead to better overall outcomes compared to those with little social support. ^{[1] [2] [5]}

Takeaway

Social support is a vital aspect of mental health and overall well-being. If you’re not currently satisfied with your current level of social support, there are many steps you can take to improve your current social relationships and find new meaningful and supportive connections. As a result, you’re more likely to be less stressed, happier, and healthier overall.