February: Healthy Relationships Month

February is Healthy Relationships Month!

By overlapping with Valentine's Day (February 14), Healthy Relationships Month encourages us to focus on creating caring relationships across our campus.

Why are healthy relationships important?

Positive human connection plays an important role in maintaining our emotional-physical health, wellbeing, and growth. In fact, research has shown that positive relationships encourage us to embrace and pursue opportunities that foster a sense of purpose and meaning in life. This is primarily because of the support that comes from a healthy relationship. In the face of adversity, healthy relationships and the positive support they offer, not only buffer us from the harms of stress but allow us to flourish despite these harms.

Healthy Relationships vs. Unhealthy Relationships

Healthy relationships allow the individuals in the relationship to feel supported and connected but still feel independent. They involve honesty, trust, respect and open communication between partners and take effort and compromise from both people.

Unhealthy relationships are relationships where one or more of the people involved exhibits behaviors that are not healthy and are not founded in mutual respect for the other person. Unhealthy relationships are not necessarily abusive relationships, but they can be. They also aren't limited to romantic relationships. Unhealthy relationships include but aren't limited to friendships and relationships with family members.

Recognizing the characteristics of unhealthy relationships and striving towards the characteristics of healthy relationships can help keep us safe and happy.

Lists 10 signs of a healthy relationship

Past Healthy Relationship Months:

Teal square with hearts and text that says Healthy Relationships Conversation Circle

Healthy Relationships Conversation Circle - February 18, 2021 from 4-5 pm PST

A collaboration between SHARE: Education Team & SAIO (Stanford American Indian Organization).

This student-led casual conversation circle provided a space to talk about how you're doing and how you can build and maintain a healthy relationship with yourself and others! Conversation circles allow you to discuss topics in a candid, reflective, and supported way; we hope that this circle allowed you to speak and listen in a space built around respect, solidarity, and community.

Conversation topics included:

check-ins
building a healthy relationship with yourself
learning the difference between self-care and self-soothing activities
setting and respecting boundaries with friends, partners, families, communities
space to reflect on how the pandemic has impacted your relationship with yourself and others

POSTING WITH PRIDE: Healthy Relationships in the LGBTQ+ Community

A collaboration between SHARE: Education Team & QSR (Queer Student Resources).

Celebrate Healthy Relationships Month with us by sharing your stories, poetry, or artwork about healthy queer love (platonic, familial, romantic, and more!) and we’ll share on Instagram @shareatstanford. Submit by 02/14/21.

Tell your story! Submit here: BIT.LY/3RE7ALA

SHARE Cares Instagram Challenge - February 12-14, 2021

February is Healthy Relationships Month and every year the SHARE: Ed Team hosts SHARE Cares the week of Valentine’s Day to encourage everyone to focus on creating caring relationships in their lives.

This year, we are challenged students to share care to each other and to themselves on Instagram! We created a few Instagram story templates for SHARE Cares for people to fill out. This is a beautiful and simple way to show care for the people we appreciate in our lives.

We asked that those who post please tag us at @shareatstanford so we could see the abundance of people sharing care! We asked permission from those who post to repost their answers, and you can see them on our Instagram Highlight.

Healthy Relationships Month Newsletters

Find out more about healthy relationships

Healthy Relationship Wheel

Relationships Check-In Worksheet