Part 2: social relationships - mental protective factor

We are human beings and we need people... it's in our nature, so to speak, to strive for social and interpersonal relationships. When we're still small, it's even a kind of dependency relationship that ensures our survival. After all, what baby can feed and change itself? It relies on the support, protection, and care of adults. For this reason, children are born with a secure bond of trust with their parents. So, it's a good thing...

But how many social relationships do we need to be happy and content? 2, 8, 20? The more the better? Does happiness increase proportionally with interpersonal relationships, or does it eventually reach a plateau?

That's an interesting question! Unfortunately, I can't give you an exact number. I think there are individual differences here, which certainly depend on whether you're more of an extrovert or an introvert...

But as I already noted in my introductory blog post, we don't want to focus on the differences, but rather on the general principles that apply to every human being! So, how many social relationships do you need at a minimum to develop optimally?

The answer might surprise you... but it's exactly one! And not just any person, but a stable, caring, and reliable caregiver!!!

I came across this answer while writing a term paper about children of mentally ill parents. It's interesting to see why some children of mentally ill parents develop mental illness themselves, while others don't. One protective factor that makes the crucial difference, among others, is having a stable, caring, reliable caregiver. These attributes are crucial!

What does stable mean? Certainly something like strong, resilient, and above all, consistent! Approachable is self-explanatory... this person has to be our friend, not our enemy, and only want the best for us, and ideally, have acts of support and words of encouragement for us. And I interpret reliable to mean this person has to be accessible and signal responsiveness... we have to be able to rely on them to keep their word and at least be able to rely on them in an emergency.

I find these qualities very interesting. With this knowledge, we can now question whether we are the right person for our child, or identify areas where we might still have room for improvement. In any case, I find it reassuring that one person is essentially enough for a child to develop healthily and optimally... especially when I think of the many single mothers and fathers! You're doing a great job! Don't worry—you are enough for your child, especially if you strive to fulfill the previous three attributes!

My personal tip: Consider which social relationships in your own life fulfill all three characteristics. If there's one person who does, then you can consider yourself truly lucky. Perhaps you can simply say thank you to that person at the next opportunity, or perhaps you can be that kind of person for someone yourself?

With this in mind, I would like to thank you very much for your interest in my blog, your Martina from LIONHERZ <3