How emotionally resilient you can be during a time of crisis is dependent upon the quality of your relationships with other people. Having the social support of family and friends allows you to be more flexible and resilient in stressful situations. Having friends also gives you a greater feeling of confidence in yourself and helps you look at life more optimistically. Studies have also shown that being able to create and maintain friendships and love relationships is also important for maintaining physical health.

Some important things to know about relationships and emotional resilience include these basics:

• In relationships, quality matters more than quantity. It is the people who genuinely care for you who will be there for you when you find yourself in need of support. One or a few really good, committed relationships are worth more than dozens of superficial relationships.
• Being able to ask for and accept help and support from your friends is an important factor in how your relationships contribute to your emotional resilience. If you have a hard time accepting help from others, or tend to push people away when they offer, you will not reap the benefits from that help. However, asking for help when those close to you might not know you need it, can give you support that might not otherwise have been offered.
• Reciprocity can be defined as a mutual or cooperative interchange of favors or privileges. Relationships depend on reciprocity and can start to fall apart when one or both partners regularly fails to reciprocate towards the other. To keep your relationships healthy, you must invest in them by figuring out what the people you are in relationships with need from you, and working to provide for that need. When in doubt - ask!

Click below to learn how to ask for what you need.