Every human being dreams of living a meaningful life
Every human being dreams of living a meaningful life and puts a lot of work into making life enjoyable. Everyone needs decent living standards, such as jobs, accommodation, and access to affordable healthcare. However, the well-being of people cannot be calculated precisely because the metrics established to quantify living conditions cannot measure how people feel about their lives.
Social interactions and their impact on well-being
Social interactions, such as family holidays, getting acquainted with acquaintances, religious events, and community service, can not simply give people joy. The partnership status of a person may not be satisfying and may contribute to misery and pain. Although some research shows that strong connections with others can help people to avoid illness, have healthy habits, and live longer, troubled relationships lead to stress and weakened immunity. Therefore lacking meaningful connections cannot be harmful to one's physical health since an individual will be able to keep away from painful relationships that harm physical health.
Impact of connections on physical health
Lacking meaningful connections may not affect physical health but on the contrary having connections with many people may lead to adoption of behavior that can be harmful to physical health. Several factors affect human physical health especially behaviors exhibited towards friends, relatives, co-workers, and social groups (Umberson and Montez S54). Contrary to some arguments that connections improve physical health some relationships may turn out to be toxic and lead to physical contrast. For instance, someone hanging out with friends who have unhealthy eating habits is likely to become overweight and suffer lifestyle diseases. This implies that keeping away from such people may save one from such health conditions. Others engage in drug abuse, alcohol use, prostitution, smoking, and other social crimes. Such adopted behaviors are dangerous to physical health since they can lead to illnesses such as cancer, accidents, arrests, and even death. In addition, disagreements, dissatisfaction, and conflicts may lead to passive aggressive eating habits and sleep problems leading to obesity and related diseases. Prostitution may lead to sexually transmitted infections leading to poor physical health and even death. Connectedness leads to physical harm and not lack of it.
The relationship between connections and stress
Having connections with many people and groups can be a threat to physical health leading to diseases and terminal conditions including blood pressure especially if issues emerge that cause stress. For instance, an individual in a troubled marriage is likely to suffer from hypertension and other diseases associated with socialization. Being in an abusive relationship makes the body release stress hormones and the heart beat very fast, which can push up the pressure of blood over time. This is quite dangerous revealing that being connected to many people may not necessarily lead to quality health and lacking connectedness may improve physical health instead of destroying it. The more friends and social partners one has the high the probability of being stressed. Stress overworks the body contributing to physical body weakness leading to poor health. Connections and relationships can also lead to life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and later death (Umberson and Montez S54). Moreover, when some relationships end, people can suffer from heartache due to the feeling of rejection. According to research, thinking about broken relationships such as ex-lovers has an effect on the brain similar to physical pain. Breaking up with friends and colleagues due to disagreements and dissatisfaction leads to a condition called broken heart syndrome. This condition involves temporary enlargement of the heart due to too much emotional stress caused by disappointment. This implies that being connected does not guarantee a quality life for individuals.
Impact of work-related connections on health
Work-related connections have a great impact on people's health, especially negative interactions such as bullies and bad bosses. People spend most of their time at their workplaces thus they have great connectedness with one another. However, not all relationships lead to happier lives, and it is a common phenomenon to find workmates and managers in conflict. Some people enter into relationships aiming to cause trouble and make living conditions unbearable for colleagues. Individuals with fewer social connections at work may report good physical health compared to people who are highly connected (Jetten et al.103). Arguments may arise among work social groups due to issues such as gossip, false accusations, and other disagreements. These can lead to excessive stress, which is a major cause of illnesses such as cardiac problems. Stressed individuals also complain of frequent headaches and tiredness due to the unfavorable environment. Some connections may lead to toxic relationships characterized by the abuse of power, insecurity, selfishness, and jealousy, among others. People in violent relationships may end up with physical injuries inflicted through beating, cuts, shooting, and physical fights. Such relationships leave a person depleted, leading to poor physical health. Some people experience terrible headaches due to constant conflicts and disturbance from the social community.
Conclusion
In conclusion, connectedness may not lead to positive impacts on human beings since any conflicts that may arise may trigger conditions that damage the physical body. For instance, conflict leads to stress and depression, which are major causes of terminal conditions such as hypertension and cardiac arrest, among others. It is wise to move away from abusive relationships and disconnect from people who are a source of stress and depression. Professional counseling can help people manage stress from social friends before it can lead to physical illnesses.
Works Cited
Jetten, Jolanda, Catherine Haslam, S. Alexander Haslam, Genevieve Dingle, and Janelle M. Jones. "How Groups affect our Health and Well-Being: The Path from Theory to Policy." Social Issues and Policy Review 8.1 (2014): 103-130.
Umberson, Debra, and Jennifer Karas Montez. "Social Relationships and Health: A Flashpoint for Health Policy." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 51.1_suppl (2010): S54-S66.
