Of course, social and emotional support may be helpful indirectly. And just having that person around may motivate you to be better to yourself. But even when investigators eliminate as many of these extraneous factors as possible, something about social ties alone seems to affect human health. Quite possibly, social ties help prompt the faith, hope, optimism, and other attitudes that may buffer you against stress. A chance to laugh A chance to cry If you don't have a strong support network at home, you can often find one through an organized group of people suffering from the same ailment as you are.
Some groups are just a bunch of patients sitting around talking.
Others are led by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional. Support groups also exist for spouses and children of people suffering from many different conditions. If you can't find a support group nearby, consider the many chat lines now flourishing on the Internet. Don't take the advice from any support group member as gospel. But, by all means, go ask your practitioner about any good ideas you glean from the groups.