How Socializing Will Benefit You
Socializing is the action or practice of participating in social activities or mixing socially with others. We should socialize as it can help improve our mental and emotional health. According to the Mayo Clinic, “socializing not only staves off feelings of loneliness, but also helps sharpen memory and cognitive skills, increases your sense of happiness and well-being, and may even help you live longer.”
Let’s take my example:
I am just a child from a small town. In the beginning, I was very shy. I didn’t like talking to new people. I only spoke to my friends if I needed their help. I never went out with my friends. I was always comfortable talking to my parents and teachers, but I was uncomfortable with new people. For example, if a relative came to visit, I would go to another room with an excuse that I want to study.
But COVID-19 came, and lockdown changed everything for me. Lockdown in my town was not strict. We were allowed to go out in the morning. In the early stages of lockdown, I was requested by a close friend to join her for cycling. I was always comfortable talking to her because she was my childhood friend. So as we started, we were six instead of two in just a week. Some of our friends started joining us, and soon we were invited to join a cycling group started by YHAI (Youth Hostels Association of India). Soon, we were nearly twenty people going for cycling daily.
In starting I always felt left out, but the leader of the group was a good friend of my dad. He started talking to me and made other people talk to me. Slowly, I started talking to new people, and I got to know what exciting things people are doing and have done when they were the same age as me. I was living in a very small world of my own, but I realized that there were many things I don't know about and that I love adventures. After talking to new people, I realized that to do something new, to make your life enjoyable, you need to think out of the box.
And as I started this I was soon welcome everywhere. Everyone began to like me and talk to me. It made my life enjoyable. Also, I lived under a lot of stress, always thinking about my future, which college I would get into, and things like that before socializing. But then after two months of lockdown, I saw a new self in me. I was not under stress anymore and things related to my future didn’t stress me out anymore. My life was totally changed after lockdown, from being disliked and being shy, I was now being liked by everyone.
But the next question is how to socialize. Here’s how to talk to people:
- Start interacting with your family first and then friends. Don’t feel shy. Just pick any topic or anything you have in common and start talking about that. Believe me, they would love to talk to you, especially your family!
- MentalHelp.net suggests introducing “yourself to neighbors and other people you come into contact with frequently. Say hello when someone walks by and ask how they are doing.”
- Spend time with a group. Join a club or if your friend is going out with some other friends ask if you can join them.
- For more ways on how to socialize, visit this website.
Remember, as written in MentalHelp.net, “It is the quality of your relationships and not their number that determines what benefits you will receive from socializing. It is the deeper, caring relationships that provide benefits and not the shallower, temporary ones. For this reason, even if you are good at socializing, take steps to deepen your relationships.”
So go on out, make some friends, talk to them and enjoy your life!
Written by Harsh Agrawal, MindSage Intern
