The Neighborhood Effect: How People Around You Can Shape Your Health and Happiness

This is my entry into the hive-naija weekly contest. It has been a while since I participated and I hope I have not lost my touch.

By the way, big congratulations to last week's contest winners. I am certain it was no easy feat. While I perused the prompts for this week, I thought about a couple of things and realized that when we talk about living a healthy life, we mostly think about diet, exercise, sleep, etc. We focus on the things that we can control in our own lives. However, something can either make or completely upend all our efforts to stay healthy-- the neighborhood and the people around us.

We may not realize it, but our environment and neighborhood greatly impact our physical and mental well-being. It is an unpopular truth that the people around you can either create a foundation for healthy living or make it a struggle daily. In my neighborhood, I have seen both sides of the coin.

Healthy Living- encouraging a balanced life.

I live in a community that seems calm and peaceful. There is almost a predictable rhythm that can be comforting. It involves small greetings that people exchange in passing, some shared moments, and sometimes small acts of kindness. The people who live close to me have contributed to how healthy I feel physically and mentally in more than one way.

For instance, an elderly woman living next door insists that she walk every morning, no matter how bad the weather is. She would take a raincoat and umbrella in the rain, she would hold a bottle of water in the heat. She made it extremely difficult to give an excuse for not staying committed to being active. Her energy is very contagious and seeing that kind of devotion is a kick in the butt for me every time I feel like giving in to laziness. Her presence and actions are a constant reminder that small efforts consistently made are the building blocks for a long-lasting and healthy lifestyle.

Then there is a mother of three who lives two houses away. She gardens with her children in the shared backyard every evening. Whenever I see them tending to the plants, I get a small nudge to be more mindful. It has inspired me to be more conscious of my eating and where it comes from. It seems like a tiny thing, but it has a real effect.

These interactions might seem small, but observing the compounding effect of consistent devotion to healthy living makes them very powerful. Being surrounded by people who show examples of healthy habits without even realizing it has helped me and pushed me to do better, creating an atmosphere where healthy living feels natural.

The Other Side of the Coin.

It isn't always utopian when it comes to neighbors. Not everyone can have a positive impact. Some people are just the very thing you do not want to see. Their actions and words can influence you negatively regarding living healthily. I have also experienced the dark side of the neighborhood. I have seen how unhealthy habits can spread like wildfire.

I have this neighbor who is always drinking Cola and every processed drink that he can lay his hand on. To make it interesting, he would always buy it in bulk and send some to us his neighbors, and it is considered rude to refuse.

To compound matters, another neighbor loves to host late-night parties and loud music. It becomes increasingly difficult to tell this neighbor that he should respect boundaries and at least care about how his actions affect those around him. Because of the late nights and the music, it can be difficult to catch some sleep, which is very important for healthy living, both physically and mentally.

Then there are the heavy smokers down the street that would gather in the evenings. I have often had to close my windows to prevent secondhand smoke from entering my home. I acknowledge that smoking is a personal choice, but it does make the environment unsafe for everyone around a smoker. I mean, it is hard to feel inspired, when all you can inhale is smoke.

Mental health and the People Around us.

Living in a supportive neighborhood with kind, mindful people can reduce stress and improve mental health. I have experienced this with one particular individual, a woman in her fifties who does not fail to check up on me every time she sees me. She is in the habit of asking her famous question, one that everyone in the neighborhood is grateful to hear:

How are you really doing?

There have been moments of sharing our little victories and losses with the neighbors. These small gestures have gone a long way toward creating a sense of safety and comfort crucial for maintaining emotional health and well-being.

Sometimes, some neighbors' passive-aggressive comments raise the emotional tension and stress levels that make it difficult to focus on your personal wellness, even if you are doing everything right. Sometimes, the negativity around you can unravel your efforts to stay healthy.

Conclusion

We can control most of our habits and choices regarding health and wellness, but the environment we live in, especially the people we share it with, can have a long-lasting and deep effect on our health.

A neighborhood can help you develop and cultivate healthy behaviors and peace of mind or it can become a daily battle for you to ward off strange and unhealthy appetites. We may not realize it, but we are all a product of influence no matter how small it is. My neighborhood has a mix of both broths but I have learned to set boundaries and lean towards the positives.

I have developed relationships with those who can help me improve my health creating a mutual environment that ultimately helps everyone live a calm healthy life.

Thanks for reading.

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The thumbnail image is AI-generated.