Question: how could you tell if a person was a good or bad influence on your behaviour or health?

Kirsty Miller answered on 14 Jun 2017:

Hi Emily 🙂 I guess you can tell by how they make you feel! If you feel bad after spending time with them then this is likely to be bad for your mental health – and even your physical health! Spending time with people who disrespect us, or who fight with us or upset us can be very damaging for mental well-being, whereas being with people who are supportive, who care for you, and who you have with will be good for your mental health, and your physical health too!
The problem is when people who you like and enjoy spending time with do things that could be damaging for health (e.g. binge drink, take drugs, take risks etc). In this case, the risky behaviours could damage your health and this could outweigh the positive effects for your mental health!
The key is really to spend time with people who you like and who care about you, but also who don’t do things that are too damaging for health!