Like you needed an excuse to go out with the girls tonight, right? But, really, if your life has gotten so busy that you have little time for fun, and friends, consider a wake-up call. Our expert weighs in on the important reasons friends are so good for you...
I recently had a chance to check out a copy of the new book, The Friendship Fix: The Complete Guide to Choosing, Losing, and Keeping Up With Your Friends, by psychologist Andrea Bonior, Ph.D., and loved the smart advice about friendship. Andrea recently shared some pretty fabulous ways good friendships benefit our health:
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- Better Habits:__ "Good friendships—with healthy people—tend to have contagion effects. That means that when you spend time with those who are good for you, your healthy behaviors improve--everything from wearing your seatbelt and slathering on sunscreen to being more patient and forgiving. Both consciously and subconsciously, healthy friends make you want to be a healthier you."
2. Warning You When Things Aren't Right:"Your friends aren't just role models, but they also serve as thermometers of your current mental and physical health. Often, it is friends who are on the case first, whether your drinking's gotten to be a bit much or you're starting to overwork yourself into oblivion. Without the people who know you best and have a vested interest in seeing you healthy, it's much harder to know when you're slipping into bad patterns."
3. Protecting Against Depression: "In this constantly inter-connected but not always truly connected world, a sense of isolation is common, even if someone has enough Facebook "friends" to fill an IMAX theater. But close, nourishing friendships can help ward off thoughts and behaviors that are associated with depression, and help you recover more quickly if it does strike."
4. Overcoming Trauma: "The research is clear: when someone has experienced a trauma, from a car accident to a sexual assault to a damaging earthquake, the quality of their social support makes all the difference. The better it is, the smoother their recovery tends to be, and the less likely they are to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This has serious implications, as PTSD can be debilitating, impairing day-to-day functioning for years."
5. Relieving Stress: "It's easy to let our friendships be pushed aside when things get stressful: who has time for that happy hour when you're slammed at work? But the irony is, the release of pressure that friends can provide is virtually medicinal in its ability to improve our functioning, making us more efficient and less irritable in the process. As coping mechanisms go, a hearty laugh, a sympathetic ear or even just the distraction of someone else's commute-from-Hell story is about as healthy as things can get."
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- Opening Up Your Mind: __"Mental and physical health tend to suffer when you get caught in a rut. And the more sedentary you are in practice or in theory, the faster your decline is as you age. Good friends are great for keeping us on our toes by exposing us to new activities, interests, and ideas—something that has implications not just for our quality of life, but the length of it."
What's the state of your friendships?
P.S. The healthiest way to deal with painful memories. And, could this beverage make you happy?
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