Good friends are among the most significant people in most people’s lives. However, not all friends are good. Friendship is based on free communication. They usually do not hesitate to tell the truth, even if they believe you will not like it. They accept you for who you are, just as you accept them for who they are. Even if you disagree with each other, you can count on them to respect your boundaries.

Healthy friendships include mutual support, so a good friend won’t merely expect you to assist them. They also offer support when they can, even if it’s just a listening ear.

In high school and college, it appeared easier to make friends. But why is this the case? Close closeness and unanticipated contacts are two of the reasons. As we progress into the “real world,” these synchronicities appear to become less common. Furthermore, as people get older, marry or enter long-term partnerships, and have children, it becomes more difficult to make time for friends.

However, especially for women, friendship is essential to our health. According to a UCLA study, having few close friends is just as bad for your health as being overweight. Women do not go into “fight-or-flight” mode like men when they are stressed. The hormone oxytocin is released under stressful situations, and it acts as a buffer between the fight-or-flight reaction and the relaxation response. Oxytocin motivates women to care for their children and socialize with other women, and this “caring” or “befriending” produces more oxytocin, calming them down even more.

When men are stressed, they produce a lot of testosterone, which mutes the effect of oxytocin, so they don’t experience this calming response. Estrogen appears to amplify this effect.

Friendship also helps to lower blood pressure, increase immunity, and promote healing, which could explain why women have lower incidences of heart disease and live longer than males. According to research, women have an average of more friends than males.

If maintaining several friendships is challenging for you, consider focusing on the ones that are most important to you. Many people don’t have enough time or emotional energy to maintain a large number of intimate connections.

At the end of the day, the quantity of your friendships is far less important than the quality of those friendships. You don’t need a certain amount of friends to reap the rewards. Even a few close friendships can have a significant impact on your happiness.

Friendships are crucial at all stages of life. As you grow and mature as some aspects of your friendship may change. Strong friendships, on the other hand, will continue to strengthen you year after year since the most important things — trust, respect, forgiveness, and support — will never change.

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