January 8th, 2020
The greatness of a community is most accurately measured
by the compassionate actions of its members.
Coretta Scott King
A community is defined as a group of people who interact with one another and share common characteristics. Within these communities, people develop strong relationships – from romantic relationships to friendships, anywhere in between– that heavily influence an individual’s personal attributes.
Communities are everywhere! There are work communities, cultural, school, political, religious, sports, and other communities that exist all around us. How important are these groups to the mental stability of the average person? The answer is: VERY. With access to more data collected from research, we are able to understand that a person’s overall health is not only determined by their physical well-being, but also how well their mind is doing – the body and mind are linked together and sometimes one can impact the other.
Successful ways of life to keep a person’s body healthy are common sense and more well-known: you eat healthy, nutrient-rich foods and maintain a good exercise regime. Understanding how to truly stay mentally healthy is a little more complex and begins at a young age through the development of solid connections.
One of the first – and arguably the most important – communities an individual is exposed to and belongs to is their family community. The significance of good parenting and a person’s socioeconomic status plays a huge role in the development of a child’s personality.
Children learn a lot by mimicking the speech and actions of their parents, along with the way their parent disciplines and reward them. For example, if a parent uses swear words often, then the child may pick up the same derogatory words their parents use.
Another example is if a parent continuously lies to their child, that specific kid may develop strong trust issues with the whole world since they do not know how to successfully develop and maintain and trustful bond with another person.
Tips to Positively Affect Your Child’s Behavior and Personality
Possibly one of the best ways to encourage long-term good behavior and personality traits your child will use in their adult life is to somewhat treat them like they are an adult. In other words, your child still has a lot to learn, but they also deserve respectful treatment – so remain patient, honest, and kind when teaching, or scolding, your child.
A parent who influences their child successfully understands that there needs to be a balance between authority and leniency. To demonstrate this as a parent, you must set understandable laws for your child, while also having a good reason for these rules set in motion. Consistency in enforcing these rules will help your child develop stability and an understanding of discipline.
Parents will correctly utilize their forbearance when their child has made a mistake because no one is perfect. If the parent is too merciful, the child may not learn a valuable lesson and possibly repeat the mistake. On the other hand, if the parent is too strict, the child may develop anxiety or depression because their parents lack positive reinforcement.
As a child, and throughout adulthood, our family community influences us tremendously. We are also influenced by our culture community, work, school, friends, online, and/or any other group organization we may belong to or look up to. Every experience or encounter a person is a function in their development and general mental health as a person.
People who surround themselves with communities that make them feel welcomed, valued, and like they can be exactly who they are as a person without feeling any judgment are the people who set themselves up to have the most successful and peaceful state of mind.
Workplace Community
A work community can have a couple of members or an endless amount. Not everyone is going to get along with one another in the workplace, but generally, people who are satisfied with their leaders and coworkers have a better chance of mental peace.
People who are psychologically overwhelmed by the members of their work community will have more stress and less motivation to go to work. If you ever feel defeated in the workplace because of another coworker, just remember that we are all humans and nobody is perfect. Who are they to make you feel anything but happy?
Internet Community
Another community example is our online community. Technology plays a huge role in communication nowadays. People have developed an online presence and share this community with other peers.
Unfortunately, there has been an uproar that social media has sparked higher levels of anxiety and depression amongst the current generation. Social media is a place of communication via comments, likes, shares, posts, etc. People who work towards endlessly impressing members of their social media community versus positively reinforcing themselves will be less mentally stable.
A tip for success is to remember that happiness is a choice and comes from within, not always from the acceptance of others.
Connections matter. A sense of security, support, love, and acknowledgment helps to give us a feeling of purpose and mental safety, and stability. As important as it is for a person to love themselves, it is equally important to feel loved and wanted by others. Human connections and communities allow humans to relate and learn from one another in order to understand what it takes to be mentally healthy.
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