Building and Maintaining Healthy Relationships
Relationships and identity are a cornerstone of young and emerging adulthood. You are trying to better understand yourself and those around you. Perhaps, you’re in college, post-grad, or beginning your professional career. The truth is that when you get into the adult world, your relationships change. That means with friends, family, co-workers, bosses, and your community. Once you were more dependent on a caregiver, now you’re learning how you would like to show up in the world outside of them.
For the first time, you’re taking care of bills, responsible for your health, and you have to manage your overall well-being. This can be exhausting and overwhelming. After all, it feels like everyone has it together except you. However, you’re one of many young and emerging adults learning how to develop healthy relationships. You are now in control of which ones you maintain and ones you need to relation.
Here are some tips for building healthy relationships.
- Be honest with what you’re looking for
- Find individuals with similar values and interests
- Keep in communication and share a genuine interest in their life
- Show up when it matters
- Be willing to address the ruptures in your relationships
Setting Boundaries
Boundaries are key to maintaining who you are in life. You are allowed to have boundaries and maintain them. Perhaps, you have come from an environment where your boundaries have been completely ignored. Often when you’re growing up, you don’t have much autonomy over what you’re expected to do. However, as an adult, you may be learning for the first time how to set boundaries and stick to them. This is especially challenging with family and old friends. They are used to you one way and setting boundaries suddenly may seem odd or confusing. Expect to have pushback, but know that you’re allowed to hold people to what your expectations are.
Consider the use of DBT skills such as DEARMAN for saying no and asking for something. FAST skills to maintain your self-respect or GIVE skills to ask or say no while maintaining a relationship. The more you practice using skills and being firm with your boundaries the more in line you will be with your boundaries.
DEARMAN:
Describe using the facts, express your opinions, assert your needs or request, reinforce what you stated, stay mindful, act confident, and be willing to negotiate when needed.
GIVE:
Be Gentle, Act Interested, Validate their experience, Use easy humor
FAST:
Be fair, don’t apologize, stick to your values, and be truthful
Developing Self-Confidence and Improving Self-Esteem
Confidence is key to stepping into your power as a person of color. The truth is no matter your age, the effects of racial trauma, prejudice, and judgments from others will weigh you down. Many young adults, step into adulthood expecting to be a leader, a boss, powerful, successful. However, when they realize all the steps and transitions they have to make to be where they aspire, it can take a toll on mental, physical, and emotional health.
The truth is our bodies start changing, we are given increased responsibility with no support, and life has unexpected twists and turns around every corner. By trying therapy, you can discover your values, truths, and where you want to go next. It’s important to lean into this. However, there is some personal work that you can do for yourself as well. If you find yourself struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and more, consider this:
- Reflect on your values and beliefs
- Challenge your negative beliefs
- Practice Loving-Kindness and Self-Compassion
- Focus on the things you can change
- Recognize and celebrate the small things
- Find and develop an action plan and then do it
- Talk with a therapist in Brooklyn, NY
Figuring Out What To Do With Your Life
Here is the thing, your 20’s are for discovering who you are. Young and emerging adults do not need to have it all together despite popular beliefs. Even though you may see 20-somethings with it all together on Instagram, that doesn’t mean that you have to compete with them. You are on your own path in life. Nobody defines where you need to be in life except for you. If you’re unsure if you’re ready for schooling, you don’t have to go into debt and begin college. If you have a desire to own a business, then get some experience and start one.
You have your own unique path and you desire the time to discover what gives you joy and then put your mind to it. If you find you’re struggling to find your unique purpose in life, self-discovery is a normal part of young and emerging adulthood. However, you don’t have to seek this support alone. That is where a therapist, life coach, or even your friends and family can help you. The support of a therapist versus a friend is much different, needing people is natural. If you are unsure of where to start, let’s talk and see what the next steps are for you!
See how you could benefit from therapy for young adults, emerging adults, or low-self-esteem today!
You deserve support in building long-lasting, healthy relationships. To get started, learn more about SG counseling in New York. Our brown and black therapists are here to support you. You can start your therapy journey by following these simple steps:
- 1. Schedule a free consultation or book a session now to begin your mental health journey!
- Meet with a caring therapist
- Start receiving the support you deserve!
Other Therapy Services SG Wellness Offers:
Finding support for your mental health matters. Our therapists in NY are here for you and your needs. At our therapy practice, we have therapists who identify as black therapists, Latinx therapists, Dominican, & BIPOC. It’s our mission to offer multicultural counseling that serves you and your needs. We offer therapy for people of color, therapy for Latinx individuals, indigenous populations, and middle eastern clients, as well as therapy for men and women. If you’re looking for a safe space we are here for you.
Additionally, if you’re looking for another kind of support other than therapy for self-esteem we have more services. Other services we offer include anxiety treatment and therapy for perfectionism, depression treatment, individual therapy, therapy for young and emerging adults, therapy for self-esteem, individual relationship therapy. All of our services are offered via online therapy in New York. Areas we serve include Bedstuy, The Broncs, Queens, and Brooklyn, NY. When you’re ready, let’s work together.
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