Chapter Seven
Relationships are a big part of our lives, and they can affect our moods. When things are going well in our relationships, we feel happier; when things aren’t so great, they can bring us down. We need to have friends, family, people who support us and care about us, people we can socialize with and do activities with, and so on. Having these kinds of relationships helps us to be more emotionally healthy; unfortunately, though, relationships can also get quite complicated.
In this chapter, you’ll first think about whether you have enough satisfying relationships in your life and whether you need to consider ending some relationships that aren’t healthy. Then you’ll learn some skills that will help you improve the relationships you have in your life. But first, let’s start by looking at an example of why it’s so important to have relationships in your life.
Zack’s Story
Zack was twelve when the kids at school started to bully him. He wasn’t sure why they started picking on him, but they were relentless. The people he used to hang out with no longer wanted to be friends with him, so Zack was very isolated and lonely at school, which really got him down. He began to feel depressed on a regular basis, to the point that he sometimes thought about killing himself.
Fortunately, one of the guidance counselors at school saw what was happening with Zack and noticed the steady drop in his mood. She made sure she had regular contact with Zack so that he knew he wasn’t alone and could go to the guidance office at any time if he was having troubles. She also let Zack’s parents know what was going on, and together they got Zack involved with a support group for kids who were being bullied. Zack was able to make some friends in that group, where he felt more accepted and understood, and this helped him start to feel better about himself again. The bullying finally stopped because Zack’s parents got involved, but things remained hard at school because some kids still didn’t want to be friends with him. In spite of this, Zack knew he had other friends now, and he looked forward to spending time with them outside of school.