Want to live healthy? Experts say that living healthy is not just about eating the right kind of food and having adequate exercise. Editors of Today’s Prevention said that having a variety of healthy friendships can actually make a woman healthy.
With the rise of social networking sites, we see people trying to gain as much “friends” as they can. But having a thousand Facebook friends or Twitter followers doesn’t really make one healthy. Australian researchers studied the lives of older people within a period of ten years and made an amazing discovery – satisfying friendships protect women against obesity, depression, heart disease and other medical conditions. So what types of friendships are beneficial and how do we keep them?
Maintain friendships with childhood intimates as they’re the only people who know secrets and stories (usually embarrassing) about you when you were still not the gorgeous woman that you are now. They keep your feet on the ground and remind you that you are still who you’ve always been. Since it’s likely that most, if not all of them, are already based in different parts of the world, try utilizing various social networking sites that are available online to keep in touch with them.
Connect with a community that will allow you to explore your spirituality and help you make a valuable contribution in the society. There are a lot of intimate opportunities at local churches or temples such as lectures, volunteer missions and enrichment classes.
Being friends with your husband’s pals is good for a marriage. Interacting with the people who your husband usually hangs out with will help you understand him more and relate with him better. In the end, it’s not just your husband who becomes happy but you too will be happier with your marriage.
Having a good relationship with your mother is also beneficial as this is one of the closest friendships that you’ll ever have. Although conflicts may arise often, mother-daughter relationships are generally strong and supportive. To overcome some common issues that you may face with your mother, here are some advice from one of the experts: stop trying to fix her, accept criticisms gracefully and try to do things together or think of things that you could do for her.
One of the most important friendships that a woman should develop is her friendship with herself. How can this happen? According to a professor at the University of Maryland, friendship with oneself starts with self-knowledge. Try to get to know yourself more – what makes you smile, things that you love, your interests, etc. As you do this, try to give yourself as much TLC as you need to make yourself feel happy and healthy.
Also read: The power of friendship