Imagine you have a piggy bank with coins in it. You may take some coins, spend them and have less money. If you earn more money or save some money, you may put more coins in your piggy bank and have more money again.
Similarly, we also have something called social reserves. It means having enough friends or family members who care about us, listening to us, and being helpful when we need them. If something bad happens to us, such as a family problem or losing a job, we might feel sad, unsafe, or disappointed. But, if we have social reserves, we may feel better because our family and friends will support us and help us feel confident to handle such situations.
Social reserves, like coins in your piggy bank, are essential in getting through tough times. If we consistently maintain our social reserves by staying in touch with our loved ones and being there for them, we can have more people to rely on when we encounter difficult times. So, having good social reserves is like having a strong armor or shield that can protect us when we are in trouble, and bring us back to feeling safe and content.