Misery Doesn’t Need Company

Good Reads - Here’s an excerpt from a book I’m reading titled, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers:

“Social support is certainly protective for humans as well. This can be demonstrated even in transient instances of support. In a number of subtle studies, subjects were exposed to a stressor such as having to give a public speech or perform a mental arithmetic task, or having two strangers argue with them, with or without a supportive friend present. In each case, social support translated into less of a cardiovascular stress-response.” (Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers; by Robert M. Sapolsky)

In my interactions with people, especially first responders, I’ve found the most resilient ones have a healthy support mechanism. But not just any social group is best or even healthy. People who we trust, who will call us on our crap yet support us through the transition from unhealthy to vibrant, are the most important to have in our lives. Ideally, they shouldn’t be experiencing the same stress we are and they don’t need to have had the same experiences as us (this is a hot topic for me I’ll elaborate on at another time). But they shouldn’t simply add fuel to our fires only helping us spin our wheels.

The healthiest social networking brings answers to our problems, not just agreeing with why we’re pissed off.