CALM

Social Wellness

Social wellness is developing and maintaining meaningful relationships among peers, friends, and loved ones. Social wellness encompasses healthy engagement and quality connections with others for enhanced personal well-being. Relationships with friends, family, neighbors, intimate partners, and social groups aid in the extension of life. Research suggests that social isolation can increase feelings of anxiety and depression (National Institute on Aging, 2022) or lead to death (House, 2001). Therefore, making meaningful connections with others is imperative for health and wellness. Social wellness extends beyond online interactions and social media. Ways to boost social wellness include intentionally scheduling time to connect with friends and family through visitation, outings, phone, or video chat. Attending or hosting a social gathering, joining physical fitness group classes, volunteering, connecting with social groups of interest, and sharing personal interests with others, such as music, food, books, etc., are just a few examples of increasing social engagement. Overall, nurturing social needs promotes mental, emotional, and physical wellness.

Resources

• Social Wellness Toolkit
• Social Wellness Checklist
• Benefits of Social Wellness

Get Involved on Campus

• Tampa
• Sarasota-Manatee
• St. Peterburg

Get Involved Near You

• Meet Up App

References

House, J. S. (2001). Social isolation kills, but how and why? Psychosomatic Medicine, 63(2), 273–274. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200103000-00011 

National Institute on Aging. (2022). Participating in activities you enjoy as you age. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/participating-activities-you-enjoy-you-age