How Friendships Improve Your Mental Health

How To Nurture Quality Friendships

There must be a balance of give-and-take from both parties to develop and maintain a healthy friendship. At times, you might be the one giving support, and other times you will be the one receiving support. Letting your friends know you care and appreciate them helps strengthen the bond you both share, as it’s just as important for you to be a good friend as it is for you to surround yourself with good friends. To nurture your friendships, you need to be kind, listen attentively, be honest and open, prove you’re trustworthy, be available whenever needed, and to calm your nerves with mindfulness.

At the core of a successful friendship is to be kind to your friends and express your gratitude for having them in your life, while also always trying to do kind things for them to make them feel loved and appreciated. Always listen attentively, use eye contact and body language, actively engage with them about what they are expressing to you, and also try to be vulnerable and build intimacy with your friends by sharing personal experiences with them. Prove you can be trusted by being responsible, reliable, and dependable for your friends when they need you, and make an effort to be available when needed or just to simply hang out when possible. If you are experiencing anxiety within your friendships, try practicing mindfulness, which you can learn more about by reading Beginner's Guide To Mindfulness.

Remember, it’s never too late to build new friendships or improve older friendships by investing time and effort to strengthen the bond you share with your friends, which can pay off in improved health and a happier life for you for years to come.