Areas of Life: Health
How each Connection Style’s health can be affected by the strength of their relationships
How each Connection Style’s health can be affected by the strength of their relationships
About: Health
Our Areas of Life categories help define how we interact with the world. Rather than define our relationships either romantically or through friendships, we have created an expansive system focused on all areas of a person’s life, from their interactions at work to how they create their chosen families and participate in their broader communities.
According to the 80-year Harvard Study of Adult Development, the single greatest determining factor of a person's mental and physical health is the strength of their relationships. But not every Connection Style approaches their relationships in the same ways. And not every Connection Style responds to the strengths or ills of those relationships in the same ways. Understanding how your mental or physical health can be affected by your relationships can help individuals prioritize nourishing stronger bonds or setting up necessary boundaries.
In this Areas of Life guide, we will break down how each Connection Style’s health can be affected by the strength of their relationships.
Connection Styles and Health
How our interactions with other people can affect our mental and physical health
Cultivators
Without boundaries, a Cultivator may feel depleted by their interactions with others. Their tendency to pour so much into other people may leave them vulnerable to diminished mental and physical health. Working on their connections helps them survive, quite literally. Being present helps them feel more connected to the other person and the larger world. Establishing healthy boundaries can help a Cultivator maintain their health while giving of themselves to others.
Seekers
Seekers typically feel energized after their interactions with the right people. However, if something goes wrong in one of their relationships, they might dwell on or even shut down due to the weight of their emotions, especially in unexpected situations. Feelings of sadness or anxiety may permeate. Not addressing these feelings in the moment or after a short period of time can make them build on top of each other, leading to issues both physical and mental.
Enthusiasts
Enthusiasts often feel energized by their relationships and connections with others. They may also feel depleted, however, when they are interacting with those who they do not know well. Enthusiasts often worry they are not showing up in the right ways for those they love, which can cause them anxiety. They often worry about the strength of their relationships and can sometimes hold on to the wrong relationships for too long. Enthusiasts need to remember they can let go of connections that just don’t work.
Organizers
An Organizer’s tendency to always show up means they are left feeling depleted after interactions with certain people. Creating the right kind of connections can facilitate better health. With their chosen family, Organizers can communicate their needs as well as establish boundaries. With other people, they may let problems slide, causing an emotional and physical buildup that can lead to burnout. It is important for Organizers to recognize when people drain their emotional energy without reciprocity, and cut them off or out for their own health.
Truth Tellers
Truth Tellers can feel both depleted and energized by their relationships with others, depending on the person. If Truth Tellers spend time with someone in their circle, they will likely feel energized. But with people they don’t know well, they may feel depleted. They may feel like they can’t be themselves with strangers or even acquaintances. Truth Tellers prefer the intimacy of one-on-one interactions, where they don’t have to juggle the different emotional needs of several people.