Supporting Well-Being with PERMA+: Relationships

Relationships make the world go ’round, and as the “R” in PERMA, they’re vital to maintaining well-being. The need to experience positive, meaningful connections with others is a biological imperative, and we should tend to our relationships with care. It’s important for us to build healthy connections, ones in which we give and also receive the benefits of those bonds—including joy, compassion, advice, companionship, and so much more. People with positive relationships can claim healthier and longer lifespans, more resilience, better performance at work, as well as many other life perks. So how can we connect and engage meaningfully with others in a time of physical distancing? Here are some resources to help you.

High Quality Connections - Staying close even when we are apart - explains that “when we experience HQCs we become physically and psychologically healthier, have greater cognitive functioning, and are more resilient, collaborative, involved and creative.”

While many of us are missing our Shipley community and day-to-day interactions, this opinion piece reminds us that “Staying at home is a privilege. Social distancing is a privilege.” 

EmbraceRace is a community of adults of all colors who support each other in our efforts to raise and guide children who are inclusive, informed, and brave when it comes to race. 

About the Author

Shipley

The Shipley School is an independent, coeducational day school in Bryn Mawr for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world. Through a strong college-preparatory curriculum in the humanities and sciences, our school encourages curiosity, creativity, and respect for intellectual effort. Shipley upholds and promotes moral integrity, a sense of personal achievement and worth, and concern for others at school and in the larger community.