Connect with the people around you: family, friends, colleagues and neighbours at home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

Social relationships are important to support wellbeing and to act as a buffer against mental ill health. People with low levels of social participation and small primary social networks are more likely to experience common mental health disorders. Having a broad social network, connecting and interacting with others can have a positive benefit on wellbeing. Also the strength of relationships is important, feeling close to someone and valued by them with the key message being that giving time and space to both strengthen and broaden social networks is important for wellbeing.