July Is Social Wellness Month — Here’s How To Celebrate

Connecting with other people can be an interesting, exciting, and healthy part of being human. Moreover, social support is often integral to a person’s physical health and mental well-being. According to the APA, about 30% of Americans feel lonely. Around the world, Social Wellness Month is celebrated each July. This month was established in the early 2000s to encourage people to build healthy relationships and improve their social well-being. For guidance in cultivating improved social wellness, it may be helpful to work with a licensed therapist.

What is Social Wellness Month?

According to the peer-reviewed journal Psychiatry, social support can be described as support available to an individual “through social ties to other individuals, groups, and the larger community.” 

Similarly, social wellness usually refers to the quality of our relationships and the ways we interact with others.

In the early 2000s, mental health professionals across the globe designated July as Social Wellness Month. As mentioned earlier, the month was established primarily to encourage healthy personal relationships and promote overall mental health. For example, as tuberculosis is typically regarded as a social disease that can negatively affect relationships and socializing, tuberculosis patients may find celebrating Social Wellness Month to be helpful. The typical goal for this time of year is generally to prioritize your mental health and well-being through healthy social interactions and strong social relationships.

The benefits of social support

Ways to build healthy relationships

Discovering ways to strengthen relationships and meet new people can seem challenging, but there may be many opportunities to find people with whom you might connect and begin to build support systems. When developing your social network, it can be helpful to remember that the quality of your relationships is often more important than the quantity. In other words, having a handful of high-quality social relationships can have more of a positive effect than having many people with whom you aren’t as close.

To effectively interact and connect with other individuals, you might try any of the following techniques:

Spend quality time with family and friends

Quality is often more important than quantity when it comes to relationships. That said, finding new ways to connect and strengthen your bonds with your existing friends and family members can be a helpful way to improve your social well-being.

Reconnect with old friends

In addition to the friends and family members you see more regularly, reaching out to old connections with whom you may have lost touch can also be a helpful way to build your support system. This could be your best friend from childhood, your old roommate, a previous coworker, or even a distant relative you don’t see often.

Get to know the people around you

When looking to meet new people, you might consider getting to know people you regularly see but don’t know very well. These people could be neighbors, coworkers, or acquaintances you met through other friends or family members.

Volunteer

Volunteering your free time for a cause you care about can help you meet like-minded individuals dedicated to similar causes. This common experience may give you something about which to talk initially and could spark an ongoing friendship outside of your volunteer work.

Join a group or club

Book clubs, bird-watching groups, recreational sports teams, and other community meet-ups can be helpful ways to meet like-minded people who have similar interests. Many individuals join these groups to meet new people, potentially making it easier for you to initiate a friendship.

Take up a new hobby

Learning a new skill or hobby can connect you with an entirely new community of people. They may attend similar events, activities, or locations that can serve as an opportunity to discuss your common interest and potentially form a connection.

Attend events

Both in-person and virtual events can be valuable ways to meet and interact with new people. Sporting events, festivals, tournaments, happy hours, and networking events can all connect you with people you may not have found otherwise.

Tips for building healthy relationships

To build healthy connections and celebrate Social Wellness Month, it can be important to implement positive social habits and relationship-building skills. The following tips can be helpful tools for getting to know another person, helping them understand who you are, and setting the foundation for a healthy, long-lasting relationship going forward.

Find common interests

In general, one foundational aspect of friendship is having common interests and experiences. This could be hobbies, books, movies, experiences, or general subjects. If you don’t already have things in common, you might try going somewhere or doing something together to begin to create those memories and find ways to bond through enjoyable activities.

Show interest in their lives

Although you may not have the same level of interest in everything your friend enjoys or wants to talk about, it can be beneficial to express interest in the things they love or experiences they’ve had. You might try asking your friend questions or learning about the subject on your own.

Listen actively

Active listening can be a foundational element of strong communication skills. Active listening can include maintaining eye contact, nodding your head, avoiding distractions, showing empathy, and asking open-ended questions. These techniques can show your friends that you are truly listening to them and care about what they have to say.

Be open and honest

Another element of a healthy relationship may be one’s ability to be open and honest about themselves. Letting a person get to know “the real you” can strengthen your relationship with one another. This could include telling stories, expressing your feelings, and being emotionally vulnerable.

Trust and respect each other

Trust and respect can be key aspects of a healthy relationship. Moreover, it can be easier to build a strong relationship without reservations or walls coming between you and your friend. By trusting and respecting one another, you can tell each other about your thoughts, feelings, and life experiences without fear of judgment.

Set boundaries

Healthy boundaries can be important in any relationship. Boundaries can be seen as the rules we set for ourselves that let others know the type of treatment we will accept. By establishing and maintaining clear and healthy boundaries with one another, you may avoid future relationship challenges.

Make time for one another

An important part of any relationship may be making time for one another. By reserving time to catch up, eat a meal, or do an activity together, you can maintain your friendship and continue to make it stronger.

Take care of yourself

Prioritizing your own mental health can be an important step in learning to build healthy relationships. You might practice self-care strategies, such as journaling, exercising, watching your favorite TV show, or taking a nap. Additionally, you might find therapy to be a beneficial tool for improving your self-esteem and building healthy relationship skills.

Strengthen relationship skills with professional guidance

Therapy can be a helpful way to care for yourself, learn more about who you are, and build valuable social skills. However, someone who is not confident in their social abilities may find it difficult to begin in-person therapy and attend regular sessions. Online therapy can be a helpful alternative to face-to-face treatment, as sessions can be attended from anywhere with an internet connection, including your home. Meeting with a therapist through a screen may also seem less intimidating than seeing them in person.

Research suggests that online therapy can be an effective treatment method for building social skills and treating symptoms of social anxiety disorder. In a 2022 study, individuals with social anxiety disorder took part in internet-based cognitive therapy. The results generally showed a significant reduction in social anxiety symptoms. Additionally, the progress these participants achieved was typically maintained for at least three months after treatment concluded.