The Importance of Meaningful Connections Beyond Romance

By: Delilah De Kay, MSW Intern Therapist 

Created: February 20, 2025

Published: February 25, 2025

Valentine’s Day can bring about a wide range of emotions in people. Some might experience feelings of joy, warmth, and happiness to celebrate the holiday with their romantic partner, while others may have feelings of loneliness, heartache, or anxiety. Thoughts like, “I’m unloveable” could come up as a result of unmet expectations or societal pressure to be in a romantic relationship. However, with so much emphasis on romantic love—both during Valentine’s Day and in society as a whole—platonic love is often minimized, overlooked, and regarded as secondary to romantic relationships. This is unfortunate, as platonic love and friendship plays a very important role in both our emotional and physical well-being. 

A systematic review published in 2023 (Pezirkianidis et. al) highlights many important ways that friendship can positively impact our mental and physical health. It found that supportive, positive adult friendships are stronger predictors of better physical and mental well-being than any other factor (Pezirkianidis et. al, 2023). Another important key finding of this review is that research indicates that the quality and depth of our relationships are what is most important, emphasizing that feelings of mutual trust, support, and sharing moments are what make these relationships so fulfilling and beneficial (Pezirkianidis et. al, 2023). Another 2016 review of multiple studies about social support found that social support is protective against depression at all stages of life (Gariépy et. al, 2016). 

As we get older, it can be harder to find time for friends with busy schedules, work, school, and family often taking priority. But it’s definitely worth the effort to nurture those important social connections. Even finding small ways to stay in touch—like fitting in a phone call during your commute, or setting aside one evening a week for a catch-up with a close friend—can make a big difference in our mental health. 

References: 

Gariépy, G., Honkaniemi, H., & Quesnel-Vallée, A. (2016). Social support and protection from depression: systematic review of current findings in Western countries. British Journal of Psychiatry, 209(4), 284–293. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.115.169094 

Pezirkianidis, C., Galanaki, E., Raftopoulou, G., Moraitou, D., & Stalikas, A. (2023). Adult friendship and wellbeing: A systematic review with practical implications. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1059057. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1059057

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