Surrounding yourself with the people you love and who care about you is one of the key things that contribute to your happiness. And, while nurturing good relationships with family members is important, it seems that having great friends can do even more for your happiness and health in the long run.
Here’s what we know about the importance of strong friendships.
Friends and Happiness
We all know that good friends make us feel happy, but now there’s a research that proves it. A recent study by the Michigan State University conducted two surveys that included over 280.000 people to try and examine the importance of strong friendships for our well-being. The study found that people who had their friends as a support system suffered from less chronic illnesses than those whose friendships were filled with stress.
This means we’re better off without people whose friendships don’t work. Not only that, but friendships seem to be more important as we age. During our lifetime we tend to cut ties with people who weren’t our true friends, which makes real friends even more significant.
Bromances and Gender Differences
However, men seem to keep their friends somewhat more distant than women. Research shows that men use their relationships for their therapeutic value, while they like to have a larger number of same-sex friends they’re less intimate with.
And, even though bromances seem to be flourishing, these stats teach us a lot about the differences between male and female approach to friendships.
The Bottom Line
The importance of strong friendships can’t be overstated – good friends make us feel better both mentally and physically. Furthermore, stressful friendships seem to affect our lives deeper than we thought, so don’t hesitate to cut ties with people who make you feel bad about yourself.
