At some point in everyone’s life, they will face challenges. Whether it’s school, work, relationships, or random events they stumble upon, we know that adversity is a part of life. In some cases these challenges may even be traumatic. But what gets us through? What do we have as humans that pushes us past the challenge, to overcome? More than that, how do we develop more of this ability?

We have seen in previous posts how social connection and relationships plays a pivotal role in bettering our mental and physical health. But what happens when we have the opposite? What happens when, instead of being connected and in supportive relationships, we experience social disconnection? Researchers have continued to study the adverse effects of isolation and unhealthy relationships in individuals’ lives, especially post pandemic, and have noted how it effects our physical and mental health outcomes.

Close relationships are vital to our health in ways we may not realize every day. We do notice how good it feels to be praised by a loved one, to get a comforting hug or reassurance in times of sadness, and to be cheered on by our friends and family. But just how much power do these relationships have on our emotional health?

If you’ve ever stood in the middle of a meadow, gone for a hike, or spent the day on the ocean, you may have found a sense of peace, calm, or connectedness overcome you. There is something about being in nature that melts the stress away. It turns out, that research would agree with you! Nature has been shown to have significant positive impacts on stress reduction and overall mental health, encouraging more people to get outside for the sake of their health.

At this point we’ve all heard the saying, “You are what you eat," right? Typically this refers to the impact our food choices have on our physical well-being. Donuts, cookies, potato chips, and fruit punch every day can’t be good for our health, and we all seem to agree with that. But what about our mental health? Can the food we consume have any profound effects on our cognitive abilities and mood?

The short answer is, yes, it can! Research, to date, has continued to show major correlations between what we eat and how we feel.