…Hello to all of my lovely blog readers, Facebook fans, and dedicated followers.  I hope your weekend was as fun, productive, and beautiful as mine was.  Today I thought I would post about a topic that involved my weekend: support…

…Yesterday was an extremely busy day for me.  Sunday -as I have shared before- is my grocery shopping, prepare the lunches, and get the food ready for the week day.  That being said, Drew told me late last week we were going to his sister’s house for a barbecue.  I started to panic… how would I get it all done!?  But then I remembered my own advice and released my need to control things and went with the flow.  I am happy to report we got it all in…

…We did get an early start to our day and were able to shop, prepare, and cook all of the foods for the upcoming week.  I was even able to make a delicious -and nutritious- kale salad for the barbecue.  (I know a lot of times we also can have a “freak out” when going to a social event where we are unsure what healthy food options they may have… I know I do.  So what I do to flow with that: bring a healthy dish I enjoy so at least I have that to eat!)…

…So then we headed down to his sister’s house and it was a glorious day.  The weather was gorgeous.  Her yard and deck was so relaxing.  The conversation was fun and upbeat… we even had some moments where we were laughing so hard my cheeks hurt!  I felt like I was at a laughter Yoga class!!  It was a lot of fun.  It was a beautiful afternoon…

…Which brings me to my thought and point for today: support.  Having a strong support system is really a large part of health and wellness.  Of course you can choose, make, set, and work on health goals on your own but having some people around you is always a great way to enhance your motives even more!  Here are some of the reasons why having a support system is so beneficial for us all:

• You can ask questions.  There is going to be a time where you may not know all of the answers.  How do I make that recipe?  Where do I find that resource?  What could work better than what I am trying?  We do not always have every single answer.  We have our own answers within ourselves and we have what we want, but it is a good idea to have some people to ask for information from… especially when we want to try something we have never done before.
• You can have a cheerleader.  It is always nice to have people around you that will recognize, praise, and lift you up.  We should be doing that on our own, but a lot of times we are more critical of ourselves than we should be.  So that being said, others can see our improvements, strides, and advances and give us a healthy shout out, a clapping hand, or a word of encouragement.
• You create a tribe.  It is best not to do all things in isolation.  I heard a great talk given by Dr. Andrew Weil.  In it he shared how some of the more recent increases in depression are linked to the fact that as a society we are more isolated than ever before.  His example was his front porch.  Growing up people did not all have air conditioning units so that sat out on their porches catching the evening breezes.  That created a feeling of camaraderie and community… a “tribe”.  Now we are more isolated and keep to ourselves.  Having a good support system can actually help lift your mood and keep you from feeling so down.
• You create healthy moments.  Laughter.  As I said above, I laughed and laughed and laughed with my family yesterday.  Now of course, I can laugh on my own.  But as with the concepts of the increasingly popular laugther Yoga… laughter is contagious.  The more you are around people who are laughing the more you will laugh.  You just cannot help it.  Trust me.  It is a fact.  Try it.  See if you can hold back!
• You increase physical health.  Social support buffers the adverse effects of stress on cardiovascular and immune responses.  Laboratory studies show that when subjects are subjected to stress, emotional support reduces the usual sharp rise in blood pressure and increased secretion of damaging stress related hormones.  One report demonstrated that middle aged men who had recently endured high levels of emotional stress but had little social support were three times more likely to die over the next seven years.

…Enough evidence that having a support system is important?  And this is not even all of it!  There are many, many other reasons why having a strong support system to turn to enhances our health and overall well-being…

What other reasons can you think of?  How have support systems helped you?  In what ways does having a group of supportive people in your life enhance your health?