World Mental Health Day 2023: How Can Relationships Affect Mental Health? Expert Explains

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World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10 each year to raise awareness about mental health issues and promote mental well-being. It's an important day to encourage discussions, reduce stigma, and provide support for those dealing with mental health challenges. 

The impact of relationships on mental health is profound. Positive relationships can bolster well-being, while negative ones can contribute to mental health struggles. Recognizing the importance of fostering healthy connections and seeking help when relationships become detrimental is crucial for maintaining good mental health.

All familial, platonic, and professional relationships have a profound effect on our mental well-being. The phrase ‘in a relationship’ is synonymous with being romantically involved, and this article will focus on the effects of the same on our mental health. In an era marked by rapid digital transformation and the rise of dating apps, online romance has a significant impact on our mental well-being. This World Mental Health Day, Saurabh Awasthi, co-founder of Meet7, the online dating app shares the impact of relationships on mental health. 

Healthy Relationships And Emotional Well-Being

Mr Awasthi shares, “Relationships comfort us by offering a space to openly share our stress and feelings. Healthy communication helps us deal with our emotions, fight loneliness, and increase our mental fortitude. The positive impact of healthy relationships extends beyond emotional support to personal growth and confidence.”

Online dating Has Transformed Modern Relationships

Mr Awasthi explains that social media brought more and more people online to stay in touch with loved ones, network, and create communities where they could share media, humor, and opinions. This led to the emergence, and acceptance of dating apps as an easier way to meet romantic partners, away from prying eyes. This convenience should have opened up exciting opportunities for building meaningful relationships, however, the flaws in apps today have given rise to security nuisances like being “catfished” and “ghosted” which has had a massive impact on the mental health of its users.

Digital Dating and Anxiety Disorders

Mr Awasthi shares, “We have all shopped for a t-shirt online - we open a shopping platform, look at a picture catalog of t-shirts, add 4 options which fit our basic criteria of look, size, and budget, then before paying, we remove 3 from our cart, pay for 1 and move on. On swipe or scroll-based dating apps today, users feel like the t-shirts - judged by 1000s, waiting to be added to a cart and unmatched without explanation. The pressure to present oneself like a “flawlessly- modeled t-shirt” contributes to increased anxiety and frustration. While being “right-swiped” (selected by the opposite person) should feel exciting, it has now started invoking feelings of boredom and fatigue as men swipe right on 40 percent of women’s profiles, and women swipe right on less than 7 percent of men.”

Strategies For Emotional Resilience

Mr Awasthi shares, “Compulsive and excessive swiping on such apps has been categorized as an addiction, like gambling and shopping. They have increased people’s need to be socially and physically validated. Dating apps need to increase engagement on their platforms through actual couple interactions, instead of focusing on engagement through profile browsing.”

Balancing Online And Offline Relationships

Mr Awasthi says, “Online interactions can feel superficial as online interactions only show one aspect of your personality However, online interactions can be made more fruitful by having infallible identity validation and community reporting systems, where our users are assured that they will meet people and not bots, fraudsters, scammers and ghosters.”

Mindful Digital Dating For Improved Mental Health

Mr Awasthi shares, “Online dating is here to stay and can be made healthy by meeting people, not ‘profiles’. Any dating app that relies on the gamification of swipe, scroll, or profile browsing cannot prioritize the safety and well-being of its users. While such dating apps can seem convenient, lasting connections can only be built by balancing online and offline interactions, ensuring our search for connection and love improves rather than worsening our mental health.”