This paper summarizes current evidence of social relations and health, looking specifically at how social integration and support are related to health behaviors and outcomes. The paper reports that social relations benefit health behaviors, including chronic illness self-management, and decrease suicidal tendency.
Positive psychological well-being, especially optimism, protects against the incidence, and somewhat against the progression, of cardiovascular disease through a broad array of mechanisms, according to this extensive literature review.
It seems like common sense that being depressed or anxious is not good for a person’s health. But does well-being offer protective effects on cardiovascular health?