Healthy Friendships

Living with a mental health condition can make establishing friendships more difficult. According to the Mayo Clinic, friends can reduce stress, increase happiness and bolster self-confidence. If you are a teenager, foster positive connections and relationships with your peers and strive for a bond with at least one caring, supportive and trusted adult. Parents should ensure that their children are spending time with friends and family.

There are three requirements for healthy friendships, positivity, consistency and vulnerability. Hang out together, pay attention, listen and show compassion The best gift you can give others is empathy, which can be shown through acts of kindness and small, but meaningful gestures like attending events that are important to them. When talking to acquaintances, ask the types of questions you like to answer.

You may hesitate to contact friends, believing your relationships should be 50/50 like romantic ones. However, this is rarely the case in friendships. When you see acquaintances after a long absence, ask open ended, intentional questions to catch up with one another.

Today, conflict can be common in conversation, even between friends. Express how you feel and then let it go. Find ways to reconnect, like discussing a shared interest, reminiscing or talking about upcoming plans.

There are many ways to build relationships. Ask a loved one to check on you regularly. Text, Snap, call or E-Mail an old friend. Reach out to a classmate or colleague. Go for a walk with a workout buddy. Help someone else by volunteering. Schedule a weekly coffee, dinner or lunch date with friends. Meet new people by taking a class or joining a club or sports team. Ask someone to go to the movies or a concert. Confide in a teacher, coach or clergy member.

Friendships can play an important part in living with and recovering from mental health issues, especially in combating the isolation that frequently accompanies them. Remember that peer support groups can be excellent places to meet new friends. #BraveNotBroken