Being more intentional with our social interactions can improve our well-being and help stave off emotional burnout.
Social nutrition
To have a fully balanced social diet, we need a little bit of everything: Deep connections, surface-level chats, and alone time.
In examining the everyday social interactions of nearly 400 participants from across the country, researchers found that less lonely people had more frequent interactions with close friends and family. Those with higher senses of well-being and life satisfaction interacted with more people overall. But time spent alone was also important.
Don’t Exhaust Yourself
Connecting with others requires energy. In fact, one study found that people actively avoid situations requiring them to feel empathy because it’s too emotionally taxing. Because we each have a limited amount of emotional energy, we should be aware of the types of social interactions we’re having.
A good, functioning social energy system is one where we feel a high degree of connection, but not a lot of energy output.
This means spending more time with people who energize you, and less time with those who leave you feeling drained.
Variety Is Key
Social relationships, like healthy diets, require balance. Fill out your social roster with work friends, close friends, and acquaintances you see at the gym, and protect some precious me-time. Rather than putting all of your eggs in a single social basket each day,
You should aim to have a conversation with a dear friend or family member, a lighthearted chat with a neighbor, and some time to reflect alone.
Focus on Quality
Those with the healthiest social diets had more meaningful conversations overall. And “meaningful” could be anything from a heart-to-heart to joking around.
Interactions with those closest to us are mutually beneficial: Chats with family and friends keep loneliness at bay for both conversation partners.
However, you needn’t have these conversations constantly. You don’t need every single one of your meals to be a dense, heavy duty meal,
