One of the most important things in life that we all have to make sure of is that we are paying respects to our social side. We are very much social animals, and if you ever get into a position where you feel as though you don’t have many social connections, that can be very bad for your mental health – and even your overall physical health too. Some research even suggests that loneliness is as bad for you as smoking, so it really is important to make sure you are doing all you can to stay connected. What are some of the things you should focus on here? Let’s take a look.

Keep Your Network Close-Knit

Although you might assume this is all about having lots and lots of friends, actually it isn’t. It is much more important to have one or two very close friends, compared to a thousand people you only half-know. You should actually aim to keep your friendship network as close as possible, with a few important people around you at any one time, if you want to stay connected to them all as much as possible. That is much better for you than attempting to maintain a huge amount of relationships with so many different people.

Look After Your Hearing

One of the most common causes of people feeling alienated from the groups around them is when they are suffering some degree of hearing loss. If you find that you often have trouble with your hearing, you might well want to think about whether you need some help with that. Be sure to keep an eye on your hearing, and if it gets noticeably worse, think about getting the help you need. If you treat hearing loss in the right way, it can be one of the most important ways of feeling more connected to your social network, which is in turn very good for your overall wellbeing.

Use Technology

Although technology can, in some respects, actually end up being a barrier between people – such as when everyone at the dinner table is looking at their phone – it can also be a wonderful tool for staying connected. If you are keen to stay connected to your social network, then you should consider aiming to use technology in the right way, so that you can do this much more effectively. Why not set up a weekly Zoom call with your extended family, or even just email an old friend out of the blue? These things really do help overall in keeping you feeling more connected to the world – as is now more obvious than ever before.

If you can do these simple things, you are going to find that you are much more connected to your social network than you might have thought possible. That will lead to a happier and more fulfilling life, and better physical and mental health, as well as the ability to always have someone to turn to when you need them.