Good relationships are good for you—physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. “There’s a good deal of research showing that people who have strong, enduring social support have better health outcomes,” said Frank Baker, Ph.D., vice president for behavioral research at the national office of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta. “Friends and relatives are important because they help you deal with the adversities of life; you’re likely to have better health and be happier.”

Emotional support from family and friends buffers stressful life events and reduces the risk of (and speeds recovery from) depression. When you’ve had a bad day, it always helps to have a friend to call for a heart-to-heart talk, or just to take you out to do something fun or silly. People with these kinds of strong relationships—including marriage, other family members, and friends—live longer. In fact, they may even be more resistant to infection due to better immune system functioning. Social support is also associated with less cigarette smoking, less alcohol abuse, a healthier diet, more exercise, and better sleep quality.

Social support also helps people recover from illness. Research on people with cardiovascular diseases suggests that close relationships help protect heart attack survivors against future cardiovascular problems. British researcher Dr. Francis Creed and his colleagues focused on 583 men and women, all about age 60, all hospitalized with heart attacks. Each patient was asked about emotional issues including what social support they had. The patients also took tests to determine whether they were anxious or depressed. A year later, those who had a close personal confidant had 50 percent less risk of dying from heart disease than those without a close confidant. In describing his findings, Dr. Creed explained, “It’s the degree of intimacy of close relationships—not the number of social contacts—that appears to protect heart health.” A close confidant, he said, is “usually a spouse or partner, but not necessarily. It may be a very, very close friend or relative.”

Social support from friends, family members, and even pets can help people with cancer and other illnesses live longer. According to Denise Mann, who reported on recent research in a WebMD Medical News article: One study found that women with breast cancer lived longer over a seven-year period and had less chance of relapse if their social support network was large and strong.

By contrast, the Victorian Population Health Survey of 2001 conducted in and around the area of Melbourne, Australia, found that: People with few social networks were more likely to report fair to poor health and to be experiencing some level of psychological distress. They were also less likely to feel valued by society. Mental distress as a result of social isolation and lack of social support has been shown to increase the likelihood of heart disease, complications in pregnancy and delivery, and suicide.

Let’s face it: God created you to be in relationship with other people, and the more you “connect” with others, the happier and healthier you’ll be!