The Family You Choose: The Benefits of Cultivating Strong Friendships
The Family You Choose: The Benefits of Cultivating Strong Friendships
Family and friendships, while both pillars of human connection, serve distinct purposes. Family bonds are typically forged by blood or legal ties, offering a foundation of unconditional love, support, and intertwined history. They provide a sense of kinship and continuity. Friendships, on the other hand, can endure for a “reason, a season, or a lifetime,” as the saying goes. And no matter the duration, friendships enrich our lives in countless ways. They are cultivated through shared experiences, mutual respect, and choice, and play a vital role in helping us navigate life. Let’s celebrate National Friendship Day (August 4th) by counting the ways friends make life better.
Emotional Support
We often seek friends as our first line of defense when we need emotional support. Whether we are going through a painful breakup, dealing with a stressful work situation, or facing personal challenges, friends provide a listening ear and a comforting presence. They can even just provide a fun distraction to take our minds off our troubles. And while we also count on that support from family, friends can sometimes serve as arms-length observers, helping us see our problems and ourselves through a more objective lens.
Affirmation from friends helps us feel understood and validated. When we know we have people who care about us and believe in us, we are more likely to face challenges with a positive attitude and a sense of confidence.
Enriching Our Lives Through Shared Experiences
Whether it’s traveling together, participating in hobbies, or simply enjoying a meal, shared moments with friends create lasting memories and connection. In the UP Faith & Family movie TIME CAPSULE, a group of high school friends come together to reminisce about their favorite memories and recapture their best moments, deepening their bonds and even inspiring new relationships.
Collective experiences also provide opportunities for personal growth. Friends often introduce us to new perspectives, ideas, or activities that we might not have explored on our own. This exposure to diverse experiences broadens our horizons and enhances our understanding of the world. Just walking through everyday life with friends provides a rich tapestry of shared experiences to draw upon, fostering a sense of camaraderie and belonging.
High school…the ultimate shared experience. High school friends reunite to dig up their time capsule. When they open it, they make a pact to re-create all of their best high school moments. Little do they realize the capsule can heal broken hearts and spark new feelings. TIME CAPSULE is available to stream now on UP Faith & Family!
Partnership in Accountability
We all need support when it comes to working toward personal goals and dreams. Friends can play a pivotal role in fostering a sense of accountability as we work toward our aims. Sometimes simply communicating our pursuits to friends is enough to help us stay focused. Putting things “out there” is powerful. It’s also ok to ask trusted friends for gentle reminders or constructive criticism to support our growth and improvement. When we have people who we know love and want the best for us, their encouragement, perspective and guidance can make all the difference in whether or not we accomplish our aspirations. And when you’ve finally crushed that goal, who better to celebrate your success with?
Similarly, working together on a project or toward a shared goal can significantly strengthen a friendship. Collaborative effort requires mutual accountability as each person must consistently “show up” and contribute equally to ensure the task’s success. In THE WEDDING RULE, pals Max and Gemma are bequeathed a restaurant on one condition: they must be married to claim the inheritance. As they both set off to try and find a spouse, they build a sense of solidarity as they work through this sticky situation to their goal of owning the cafe.
By relying on each other and sharing responsibilities, friends deepen their trust and understanding. This process of teamwork not only enhances the quality of the work but also fortifies the bond between friends, as they navigate challenges and celebrate achievements together.
Go on a delicious quest in THE WEDDING RULE, in which former childhood friends unite following the death of their friend, Rosa, who has left them her cafe. But Rosa has thrown them a curveball…they must each be married to take over the restaurant. Both being single, the race is on to find “the one.” Available to stream now on UP Faith & Family.
The Power of Laughter
We can all agree, there is nothing like the joy of revisiting crazy stories and sharing inside jokes with friends. Laughter is often called the best medicine for good reason. When we laugh, our bodies release endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals, while reducing stress hormones like cortisol. Research has shown it can even boost our immune system by increasing infection-fighting antibodies!
But even more meaningful than lifting our mood in the moment, the more we laugh with our friends, the stronger our bonds become over time, creating a sense of deep connection and synchronicity. Read more on our blog about the benefits of laughter.
Building Resilience Through Friendship
Resilience, or the ability to bounce back from adversity, is another critical area where friendships play a significant role. They remind us that we are not alone and that we have the strength to overcome challenges. And because we often experience our deepest adversity within family – loss, conflict, estrangement – friends play a distinctive role in offering support and guidance in tricky family situations. Just knowing that we have peers who believe in us and stand by us can make a significant difference in how we cope with and recover from life’s setbacks.
Impact on Health & Longevity
If these aren’t enough reasons to cultivate strong friendships, according to the Mayo Clinic, having strong social support can significantly reduce stress levels and contribute to overall mental health. It doesn’t stop there; the benefits of friendships extend beyond mental well-being to physical health and longevity, too.
Research has shown that people with strong social connections tend to live longer and enjoy better overall healthspans, less chronic pain, and stronger immune systems than people who are isolated from others. In fact, a study conducted by researchers at Brigham Young University found that social relationships can improve survival rates by a whopping 50%. This is comparable to the effects of quitting smoking, suggesting that friendships are as crucial to our health as avoiding harmful habits.
As a bonus, friends with healthy lifestyles are often “contagious,” encouraging us to practice healthy behaviors such as regular exercise and balanced eating. They can motivate us to take better care of ourselves and provide the accountability needed to maintain healthy habits.
As we navigate the complexities of life, nurturing our friendships is one of the best investments we can make in our mental and emotional health. So, reach out to your pals, share a laugh, and cherish the moments you spend together — your mind and heart will thank you.
Looking for some feel-good screen time? Check out some of our favorite family-friendly movies and series highlighting friendships. Stream anytime on UP Faith & Family. Start your 7-day free trial today.
Melanie Gilbert owns Choral Communications and resides in Atlanta with her husband, daughter and two cats.
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