THE ROLE OF FRIENDSHIP IN YOUR PERSONAL WELL BEING
Life can be hectic at times. The constant pressure to succeed at work and check the next box in your personal life can be draining. So, how can you keep your batteries charged? It turns out that friendship is one of the most effective ways to maintain our well-being amongst life’s rush.
We are social beings, and relationships play a vital role in our mental health and wellness. Personal relationships form a large part of our lives, with our relationships with family and friends being particularly important. In this post, let’s explore the role that friendship plays in our overall wellness.
Support System
Friends give us a safe space to share our ups and downs, process our emotions, and help us through tough situations. When you hit a rough patch in life, having someone to talk to can be the best way to gain perspective and find solutions. The sense of support they provide is one of the healthy coping mechanisms for difficult life experiences. Having this support system to lean on increases our resilience and reduces the burden of stress.
Boosted Happiness
Strong friendships can contribute immensely to your overall happiness and joy. Inside jokes, lots of laughter, doing fun things together, and sharing wins and losses can boost your mood and increase your sense of belongingness. Spending time with people whose company you enjoy and whose values align with yours can create feelings of comfort and security. It’s like an investment that compounds, create memories today and enjoy the joy of nostalgia for the rest of your life.
Source of Encouragement
Friends can act as our cheerleaders and motivate us in times of self-doubt. We all need a gentle push and words of encouragement to go after things that we want and get over difficult things. When we have a group of supportive friends, we are more likely to take positive steps to improve ourselves which can have a significant impact on our well-being.
Accountability Partners
Sometimes our friends can go beyond our cheerleaders and help us by being our accountability partners. Are you working on personal goals like regular exercise or a healthy diet? Share the goal and the plan to achieve it with them so that they can keep you motivated. When you’re answerable to someone, there is a higher chance that you will follow through with the plan. From just checking in on you every day to rewarding you with gifts, you can agree on what tactics will work to keep you on track. This will help you push forward and can cause positive changes in your life.
Reduced Stress Levels
Stress has become a common part of life. By being the support system and a safe haven, having close friendships can reduce stress levels. Also, friendship is a relationship that comes with the least amount of obligations. Since they are a separate entity from our work, just spending time with them can make us feel more relaxed and recharged.
Friendships can increase the overall quality of life and ultimately increase our zest for it! So, it’s important to make time in our busy schedules to nurture our relationships with friends. Make it a priority to find time and make plans regularly to check in on one another and have some fun. Your life will be richer and your overall well-being will benefit greatly.
Author: Nivetha Kannan
Nivetha writes blogs on mental health and wellbeing topics for Silver Oak Health. She is a professional content writer and is passionate about the field of psychology & personal development. She writes impactful content that brings positive changes in people. Her mantra for life is to ‘be curious, and not judgemental’.
