Century Park Blog

Good friends are good for your health. Friends can help you celebrate good times and provide support during bad times. Friends prevent isolation and loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship.

Friends can:

• Increase your sense of belonging and purpose
• Boost your happiness and reduce your stress
• Improve your self-confidence and self-worth
• Help you cope with traumas such as divorce or serious illness
• Encourage you to change or avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as lack of exercise

Friends also play a significant role in promoting your overall health. Adults with strong social connections have a reduced risk for many significant health problems, including depression and high blood pressure. Studies have shown that older adults who have meaningful relationships and social support are likely to live longer than their peers with fewer connections.

Developing and maintaining healthy friendships involves give-and-take. Sometimes you're the one giving support, and other times you are one receiving that needed support. Letting friends know you care about them and appreciate them can help strengthen your bond. It is as important for you to be a good friend as it is to surround yourself with good friends.

To nurture your friendships:

• Be kind. This most-basic behavior remains the core of successful relationships.
• Be a good listener. Ask what’s going on in your friends’ lives. Be empathetic when friends share details of hard times or difficult experiences.
• Open up. Build intimacy with your friends by opening up about yourself. Being willing to disclose personal experiences and concerns shows that your friend holds a special place in your life and this sharing may deepen your connection.
• Show that you can be trusted. Being responsible, reliable and dependable is key to forming strong friendships.
• Make yourself available. Building a close friendship takes time – together. Make an effort to see your friends regularly and check in with them between meet ups.

Remember, it’s never too late to develop new friendships or reconnect with old friends. Investing time in making friends and strengthening your friendships can result in better health and a brighter outlook for years to come.