The Importance of Communication in relationships and its effect on our mental health
a special podcast feature
I often tell people that I am not good at initiating friendships but I go hard to ensure the one I have works and one major way is by communicating.
Research has shown that friendship plays a vital role in our mental well-being.
Friendship is a crucial element in protecting our mental health. Our friends can keep us grounded, help us get things in perspective, and help us manage the problems that life throws at us. If we’re experiencing a mental health problem, our instinct might be to hide away and avoid our friends. But friendships can play a key role in helping us live with or recover from a mental health problem and overcome the isolation that often comes with it. We can end up with the strongest relationships with the people who’ve supported us through hard times.
They can also help increase our sense of belonging, improve our self-confidence and help reduce stress and anxiety. In fact, studies have shown that “those who enjoy close friendships over their teenage years have a lower rate of depression or anxiety later in life.” Friendship is something you never outgrow.
Here is a special podcast episode:
Friendship, Forgiveness and Communication
Let me share with you some stages of friendship that I have come to learn :
Image credit: Jermaine Tucker
Strangers (I Don't Know You): It is the lowest stage and also the most important.
Acquaintance (I Know of You): The Acquaintance stage continues from the Stranger stage, and it is defined by occasional interactions that you experience with a person.
Casual Friend (I Know You): The Casual Friend is the stage where most people make it. It is the stage where a person can actually say that they know a person.
Close Friend (I Understand You): This zone is the area that very few make it to. Once a person has reached the Close Friend stage, not only have both people invested in each other personally, but also emotionally.
So, where do you belong in your friendship journey?
I want to read your comments and questions.
"Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together." – Woodrow T. Wilson