Healthy Relationships
Relationships can be a great asset to life if we have healthy ones. When picking a friend or a spouse we must evaluate the quality of the friendship to make sure it is a healthy one. Healthy relationships with friends has promoted some thinking that friendship may increase life longevity! A study mentioned in an article on http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/good-friends-are-good-for-you found that the people in the study who had more friends outlived those with less friends by about 22%. The speculation is that friends encourage us to make healthy choices, at least friends in a healthy relationship. This article also mentioned a psychiatrist named David Spiegel who performed a study on women with breast cancer. Those who went to support groups lived twice as long as those who didn't.
Making Friends as an Adult
Apparently, as we get older it becomes harder to make new friends. Why would that be you ask? Of course it is work, children, family and the busyness of life. Another article I read about making friends after 30 mentioned that as we get older we tend to refocus on the most important relationships like family and as life gets busier, friendships seem to take the backburner. There are 3 things one must have or do to make friends with someone.
1. Proximity within one another must be close to make long lasting friendships that we interact with often. 2. Repeated, unplanned interactions. 3. A setting that allows people to be comfortable enough to let their guard down and confide in one another. During school and college we tend to make the most friends that seem to last a lifetime but when we get into careers and parenting, life challenges complicate things. How much money one makes vs. another or different parenting styles. To read the entire article, which I think had much insight to offer on making quality friends at any age, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/fashion/the-challenge-of-making-friends-as-an-adult.html. |
Is Age Bias in Regards to Friendship?
I found it interesting that when I typed in "Friends Eating Together" that most of the people, if not almost all, on the results page looked in their 30s or younger. I don't think it's a coincidence because friendships do seem to fade slightly as we get older and busier. It's not impossible to make good quality, long lasting friendships as we get older though!
Fun Activities With Friends!
Just when you begin to discourage yourself with the thought of "what do I do with my friends since I'm older" take a look at some of these suggestions! Card games and board games are always a fun way to laugh and make memories! If you aren't in to games you can do a movie night. Food fanatics could go restaurant hopping eating appetizers at one place, entrees at another and dessert at another. Go bike riding together locally and while you are at it do some sight seeing in areas of town you aren't as familiar with. Donate your time to homeless shelters, animal shelters or veterans affair offices and give back to the community together! For many more fun ideas listed for teenagers but could be tweaked for adults, visit http://teenadvice.about.com/od/entertainment/a/free_things_to_do_for_teens.htm. Also check out this article on fun dinner party themes and ideas for adults! http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/entertaining/dinner-party-ideas.
Cherish Your Friendships!
Throughout life remember to cherish your friends. Be giving of your time to them and don't stop having fun together in life! Wellness encompasses so many more things but a really fun part of it is having a healthy social life Play the video below to remind yourself what friendship is all about!