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How does Friendship affect your Health?

How does Friendship affect your Health?
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What is friendship?

Does it mean having each other in your Facebook list?

Does it mean that you meet each other every weekend?

It is a relationship between two people who care for each other

But does such a dry definition do justice to the concept of friendship?

Well I don’t think so…..

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Consider this…

A friend is the first person you want to call when you hear some good news.

A friend remembers what you like and what you don’t.

A friend will accompany you even on the most boring of tasks and will make them fun for you.

In other words, friendship is wonderful, amazing, and fantastic and much ink has been spilled in citing the qualities of having friends.

True #friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost― Colton Click To Tweet

Friendship is a personal relationship that is reciprocated. You need to understand the difference between friends and people who act friendly. Real friends make you feel good and have a positive influence in your life.

Ask yourself these simple questions:

  • How does this person make you feel when you are with him/her?
  • Do you look forward to meet them?
  • Can you share your joy with them?

 The answers to these will tell you who your real friends are.

Friendship and Health

“True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost.” ―Charles Caleb Colton

We all know that our lifestyle and diet plays a very important role in our health and well-being. But do you know that our social circle, most importantly our friends also affect our health.

A man of wisdom was once asked – what is his richest treasure?

He said that all his happiness is treasured in his friends. Friendship is the most precious relationship he cherishes.

friendship-and-its-effect

Friends, without a doubt, are an important part of our lives. They are the ones who let us be the way we are, and love us without any pretensions. They help us rise from our steepest fall, and help us smile even in the darkest of times. All in all, friends are always with us and influence our thoughts and outlook.

All these things tell us how friendship affects our day-to-day lives. Let’s take it one step further and have a look at how friendship affects our health.

A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart - Heather Pryor Click To Tweet

How Friendship affects our health?

Glance through all the feel-good aspects of friendship and its effects on our physical and mental health.

1. Improves psychological well-being

Loneliness is the basic reason for many emotional problems. With friends, we do not suppress our emotions. A friend is always there when we need to talk or express our feelings. Friendship is of great significance, as it can help you overcome any mental distress and issues. Friendship helps in keeping depression at bay. It increases feelings of contentedness and happiness. It also helps in coping with an emotional trauma, like loss or death of a loved one, failure, divorce, illness, etc.

2 Acts as a stress buster

Sharing a good laugh with your friends is perhaps the best mood one can enjoy. Do you know that friends are the greatest stress busters? When we suffer the feelings of loneliness, the stress hormone cortisol is released. The release of cortisol increases blood pressure and also triggers hormonal imbalances. A good laugh with your friends, tackles the root cause of stress.

3. Helps follow healthy lifestyle

Friends are a big source of motivation. Whether you have to hit the gym or follow your dreams, friends are always there to motivate you. If you follow a fitness routine with your best buddy, you will be more dedicated and consistent. At the same time, it will give you awesome results. Good friends will also keep you away from addictions such as excessive drinking and smoking.

friendship

Image Credits: medicalnewstoday.com

4. Helps recover from illness

According to a Harvard study, if you are surrounded by your friends and meet them regularly, it helps in faster recovery from severe illnesses. This study was conducted on patients with breast cancer. The research revealed that, patients with no friends were 4 times more likely to die from the disease, than patients with a strong friendship network.

5. Increases lifespan

Yes it is true. The Australian Longitudinal study of Aging conducted a research which showed that healthy friendships increases longevity, more than having close relationships with children and family. This study was conducted on 1,500 seniors for a span of 10 years.

A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails - Donna Roberts Click To Tweet

6. Delays aging

Now, this is one benefit which we all would love the most. According to a study conducted by the University of Brandeis, a healthy and fruitful friendship, along with proper exercise could help in delaying the aging process.

7. Enhances happiness

Well, friends have a great impact on the happiness index. According to a study, our happiness multiplies when we are in a social network, like friends and family.

friendship

Image Credits: hongkiat.com

8. Boosts intelligence

Catching up with friends and having a healthy discussion on intellectual things can help improve general intelligence.

9. Helps tackle insomnia

For all those who have trouble sleeping, good friends can help you rescue. A healthy friendship, leads to good emotional health, less stress and never make you feel lonely. This in turn affects the quality of your sleep.

Now you know the many health benefits of having friends. Make sure you have good real friends! Appreciate them!

Thank them for their beautiful gift of friendship, in your life!


Comments (13)

  • Hi Sonal,

    What a sweet post. It just made me feel good as I read it. You must have been thinking of one of your best friends while you wrote it?

    Anyone who’s lucky enough to have had a real friend in their life enjoy reading the 9 benefits of friendship you have listed here.
    Edward
    Edward Thorpe recently posted…Are Cholesterol Reduction Drugs SafeMy Profile

    • Author

      Hi Edward

      Yes I was thinking about my friend while writing this post. So the thoughts came naturally.

      Glad that you enjoyed it

      Have a nice day!

  • Hi Sonal ,
    I like your post ,it is true ,real friends make life happy and happiness is good for the health. It is also good to have somebody to talk about things which bother us and
    solve the problems so we do not dwell in negative emotions. Somebody we can trust and who does not judge . Good emotions and positivity are important to stay healthy. I like your quote: “A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails”
    Nice post ,Sonal
    Thank you
    Erika
    Erika Mohssen-Beyk recently posted…Successful Dreams – Do What You LoveMy Profile

    • Author

      Hi Erika Mam

      Real friends are very important in life. We can be ourselves with them with no pretensions. They always support us in good and bad times. If we are happy with them, we will be healthy.

      Thanks for writing in

      Have a nice day!

  • Well said! I have two beliefs associated with friendships. First, it’s not about the number of friendships you have but the quality. I would rather have half a dozen true friends than hundreds of acquaintances. Second, to have good friends, you need to be a good friend. Thanks for the inspiration!
    Marquita Herald recently posted…Mistakes Are Our Gateway to Self-DiscoveryMy Profile

    • Author

      Hi Marquita

      I cannot agree more with you. To have one real true friend who is always with you is better than having many acquaintances or people who just act friendly. Friendship is also sharing – we get what we give.

      Thanks fro writing in

      Have a nice day!

  • Hi Sonal,

    I think the most important thing about true friendship is the gift of being your self. So many times we can give into the pressure of being our” idealized self”. We can become obsessed with the things we used to do–like, for example, the mile we used to run. Now, perhaps, we have a back injury and we are lucky just to walk. Maybe we used to have a great job with a corner office and now we have more bills but less money.

    Well, at times like these it’s easy to feel defeated. A true friend sees you as a whole person and will often remind you that you are more than your injury, bank account, or title. It works the other way also. A true friend keeps your head straight when you become too driven by success. He or she will say things that you may not want to hear but need to hear. A true friend is always looking out for you even if you don’t realize it at the time. He or she will take the chance of making you angry or uncomfortable if that’s the only way they can protect you from trouble that you don’t or choose not to see.

    • Author

      Hi Thabo

      Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing your views. I agree with each and every point mentioned by you. A true friend always tells us the truth. Maybe at that point of time we may not like it, but whatever he or she says is good for us. A true friend makes us feel happy and drives away all the tension. No matter how low we are feeling but a phone call or even a message by our close friend can make us feel happy.

      They are the ones who bring smiling tears.

      Thanks for writing in

      Have a nice day!

  • Sonal,

    You’re very welcome.

    As I said, I enjoyed reading your post. I look forward to reading more. Have a nice day as well!

  • Hi Sonal,
    I see you have many friends from the pics on facebook. So you do know about friendship.
    We just returned from a trip to visit old friends. My husband knows his friend a long time, since public school. They lived in the same small town. We love going to see them, it’s always a great time. We are ourselves and can laugh about almost anything. Very nice to have such long time friends. Great article.

    • Author

      Hi Kathryn

      Its always wonderful to meet old friends. With friends we are just ourselves – laugh, talk, gossip and what not. I always love to meet my school and college friends whenever I get time. Its simply great!

      Thanks for writing in

      Have a nice day!

  • The main part of friendship is sharing and when we share… We get this burden off our shoulders a little bit. A good friend would always be there for you to cheer you up and solve your problems.

    Thanks for this lovely post
    Andy James recently posted…Just 1 Guaranteed Way of getting your hair back. Don’t loose hope just yet!My Profile

    • Author

      Hi Andy

      Its true that a good friend will always stand beside us no matter what happens.

      Thanks for sharing your views

      Have a nice day!

Comments are closed.