My Best Self 101 Blog
Please join me on a quick imaginative journey. You are enjoying a sunny day on the beach and decide to go for a swim. As you head to the ocean, you don’t quite make it around the piece of driftwood in your path and end up getting cut. Instead of taking the time to clean and put a band-aid on the cut you get angry and rub sand into the cut, making it worse. Now, you may be thinking, “Why would I do that? That is just going to hurt me further? Why not help myself instead?”
Love, a complex and multifaceted emotion, transcends conventional boundaries and encompasses a spectrum of sentiments, ranging from affection and tenderness to empathy and connection (Vangelisti & Perlman, 2019). In the contemporary discourse, psychologists like Barbara Fredrickson have emphasized that love defies rigid categorization and flourishes in myriad forms, influencing various aspects of human experience (Fredrickson, 2019).
Moreover, recent research underscores that love extends beyond romantic relationships to include the bonds we share with friends, family, and even strangers .These diverse expressions of love contribute significantly to individuals' well-being and social connectedness, fostering resilience and emotional fulfillment. By acknowledging and appreciating the richness of love in its various forms, individuals cultivate a deeper understanding of the complexities inherent in human relationships and enhance their overall quality of life.
Considering what we know about the importance of supportive relationships to health and happiness, Gottman’s research on couple relationships is gold. We know, on average, that married people are more healthy both physically and mentally. In fact, a person’s romantic relationship affects their health just as much as diet and exercise.
