Adding to last week’s episode, this episode is how loving relationships are best for our mental health and overall well-being.

Put simply, evolution shaped our need for relationships. Obviously, this does not mean bad or toxic relationships, but good and mutually caring relationships.

Again, in terms of existing, or actively existing/caring, the need to have and maintain positive and loving relationships is essential for our survival as a species, or actively existing into the future.

The main point here is to explain that loving relationships are literally essential, not just something that are good and enjoyable. We all have the equal need and capacity for loving relationships, shaped by evolution, for our continued existing. It’s that simple, and it’s also that grand.

In terms of how evolution shapes relationships, my favorite example are two of the big cats in the world. Because of environmental conditions, lions evolved to rely heavily on mutually caring relationships. They live in large groups, called prides. Another equally large cat in the world, tigers, evolved to live fundamentally alone, living together in relationships briefly for mating purposes, and for raising their young.

The purpose of this episode is to show that mutually caring relationships, or loving relationships, exist for a reason, shaped by evolution, for our continued existing. It’s as simple as that, but as grand as that in terms of the feeling it gives us. It’s the emotional glue of being together and living together.

And that’s why it’s best and essential for our mental health — that’s why mutually caring and loving relationships provide and create our best mental health. Because it’s that important for our continued existing.