Friendship Comes from Heaven

Friendship refers to the close bond that is formed between two people or a group. This type of relationship is usually based on trust, affection, loyalty, sympathy, and respect which are deposited on a reciprocal basis, members of the relationship. Friendship is a critical component of life that also promotes the mental health of people. This is undoubtedly one of the most significant effective relationships can have.

Why is it so important to have friends?

Human beings are social beings since we are born we need the care and affection of others to survive. As we grow, we belong to different groups and choose who we want to spend free time with. Possessing friends fosters a sense of belonging to these groups, which brings great emotional value to the person since feeling integrated into our immediate environment is usually directly related to an increase in self-esteem and motivation.

In addition, being able to trust your friends, telling them that intimate and private information that you wish to share with them, in most cases, contributes to a relief from stress. Feeling heard, understood and/or love is often a good "calming" for "emotional pain". Conversely, perceive that the other part of the relationship shares with you their intimacies, concerns, achievements, emotions, etc., can make you feel valued, and also loved, which is related to an improvement of the self-concept of the listener. It should be mentioned in this section that this benefit occurs in those relationships of functional friendship,  in which each one, besides this link, has its space and does not feel dependent on the other person.

To be able to place trust in a friend, it also helps to overcome those more complicated situations that a person may be living, such as a duel, a breakup, the loss of work, etc. It is therapeutic to be able to share difficult moments with someone who supports and encourages you, connecting at a deeper level.

Friends can help you change life habits that are harmful to your health. There are some studies that show that, in many cases, it is the friends who motivate the change in the face of unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as stopping drinking, quitting smoking, exercising more ... A friend who cares about The other person's state of health can promote awareness of this problem in those who suffer it since sometimes it can be difficult to realize it for oneself. Likewise, it also serves as a source of motivation to initiate an action plan together, for example, going out to do physical exercise.

Friends at every stage of life

Friendships are important in each and every stage of life, from childhood to old age.

Everyone knows that children, from very young, begin to build the foundations of friendship: in the nursery, in the park, in the community in which they live, etc. sharing experiences, moments, and even their toys, smaller understand the fundamentals of this essential link in life.

It is worth mentioning in this section the importance of the children themselves choosing their friends and learning to link. Sometimes it can be seen how parents and other caregivers "choose" the friends of their children, either because they consider that they can be "a good influence", or because they are children of friends of the parents, or simply because of their affinity with some children. However, it is fundamental that the child himself can have his space and that it is he who decides with whom he wants to play. However, it is essential to be able to detect situations in which the child is suffering due to certain relationships. For example, this may occur in situations of bullying in which case the participation of parents and other caregivers is necessary to eradicate this situation.

In adolescence, relationships with friends take on a lot of significance, very intense bonds are formed. In certain occasions, this stage can be complicated, hormonal changes are experienced, conflicts with the main attachment figures, formal operational thinking is reached (abstract level of thought) and, in addition, the first amorous relationships arise. With all these biological, cognitive, emotional and social changes experienced by a person during their adolescent life, it becomes very important to have supportive friends. As Jane Austen wrote in 1798 in the book "The Abbey of Northanger “ Friendship is the best balm for the wounds that an unrequited love produces in the soul”

In the other stages of life, it is equally important to establish and maintain friendly ties for all the benefits outlined above. While it is true that new friendships are built throughout the life experience, it becomes more complicated as the person goes through stages, essentially because of two factors: because there is less availability of free time, and because with the passage of the time people become "more selective" when it comes to linking.