After all, emotional security is sought by many of us and although every couple has their respective differences and issues, having a partner can actually boost our physical and psychological well-being.
People with emotionally supportive partners are physically healthier
There are numerous benefits to being in a healthy, emotionally supportive relationship. I’m not sure being in a relationship, in general, can be classified as a good thing or as having benefits. Some relationships actually compound stress, limit personal growth and contribute to health issues.
There is research that shows that the negative benefits of having no social ties are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. So, the extreme reality of being completely isolated is detrimental.
Research that shows the benefits of being in a relationship is usually qualified with “emotionally supportive” or “close” or “healthy.” All the research I will refer to has these qualifications to it – which points to the reality that not all relationships have positive benefits.
They are proactive in staying healthy, seek help faster, and recover faster. People in healthy relationships experience less stress and are more likely to achieve their personal goals. People in healthy marriages create meaning together and meaning is shown to contribute to overall well-being and what researchers coin “the good life.“
Research around the concept of meaning shows that central to our human longing for meaning is a desire for connectedness. Being in a loving relationship fulfills this desire for connectedness and gives us meaning: we know that we matter to someone else and that we have a place in the world.
- Someone to have fun with and share experiences with.
- Better physical health.
- Longer life.
- Someone to support you in your personal goals and dreams. You are more likely to achieve your goals when you verbalize them to other people.
- A shared sense of meaning and purpose in life. Healthy couples create meaning together whether that’s sharing pursuits, contributing to a community together, practicing religion together, etc.
- Less stress. Healthy couples are able to provide comfort for one another and to support one another in the face of stress.
- The opportunity to care for someone else. Caring for others is shown to have positive health benefits.
- Someone to account for your life. Your partner is a witness to who you are and what you do. Your life is important to your partner and matters to them.
- A safe and secure relationship for you to grow in. You rest in the love and security of your relationship and, therefore, can become your best version of yourself. Healthy, secure attachment relationships are the optimum place for personal growth.
- Emotional support. Your partner validates your reality and helps you make sense of your experiences.
Being in a relationship pushes you to become better
I believe one of the key benefits of being in a relationship is that it can help you grow more into your own power and your own truth.
When I am single, it can be really easy to say who and what I am. A partner pushes me to put my beliefs into action. It’s one thing to say that I can love unconditionally; in a relationship, I get the opportunity to try that with another human. I get to fall short of my goal, learn from it, and try again.
I also think that our partners show us other parts of ourselves that we may want to heal/shift that we may not have even noticed.
For instance, if there is something that drives me crazy about my partner, it can mean that I have the same or similar quality/action and I have not realized it’s something I don’t like about myself.
