When it comes to friendship quality is definitely more important for me than quantity. Nowadays with the help of social media, by texting, tweeting, Instagramming, Facetiming, etc. it’s quite easy to “stay in touch,” but there is nothing so precious and enjoyable as actually being together, having a real relationship, real interaction with your bestie!
The whole purpose of friendship can’t be underestimated. A strong friendship is a crucial part of people's emotional well-being. Friends give us confidence booster, especially during tough times. They can increase serotonin (hormone of happiness), decrease anxiety, improve general well-being and one’s physical health! They can cheer up or make us laugh, comfort us. They can make us feel like we belong, even if we didn't feel that way.
Scientific research shows that if your bestie is a strong, healthy, active fellow, you have 70-90% chances of adapting to his lifestyle and being healthy, active and athletic yourself. Which is pretty amazing!
When few loners can be happy on their own, most of us need somebody to lean on, to talk to and just generally to be with.
To find a good friend is as challenging as to find a life partner. I’ve read somewhere that there is a particular way we pick our “friends to be.” We have a tendency to befriend those who are similar in background, in personality and sometimes even appearance, which is kind of the way we are subconsciously looking for a partner. It's almost an art. But sometimes it just happens, easy and effortless, you just “click.”
There are a lot of preconceptions when it comes to friendship too: "there is no friendship possible between men and women," "friendship between women is complicated," "beautiful female friends cannot be trusted" etc..
When it comes to prejudice, any type of it, my personal opinion is - if you sincerely, faithfully believe in that, with all your heart then it might be true for you. And I'm not talking just about friendship or love, it literally can be any aspect of your life.
I'll tell you a secret that I've learned on the psychology classes: if you have any bias in your head that you think might limit you or prevent from doing something you always wanted to, let's s say - making friends with the opposite sex, just apprehend and accept that (which would be the 1st step to the recovery), and find as many examples as you can of successful and very happy friendships between men and women.
Believe it or not, but our brain is very flexible so you can reeducate it and rewrite your prejudice; at some point, your mind will be convinced that it's possible, voilà, now you can have as many male or female friends as you wish.
So, to all friends out there: appreciate each other, spend time, call, text, meet up for coffee, be there, just in general keep up good work and be an inspiration for one another!
P.S. Devoted to my beautiful inside and outside friend Valerie! I miss you, my Shanghai sis! Xoxo
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