Typically, as we get older, we may find our circle of friends shrinking. This can happen for many reasons such as distance, busyness, personal changes, and just loss of interest. Female friendships can be complicated. Thus, some women tend to shy away from forming close friendships with other women due to negative experiences.
However, we all need friends. Life has a lot of twists and turns and doing life alone is not a good approach. Supportive female friendships is powerful and resourceful. There are several reasons why female friendships can be so impactful. Psychologist, Laura Barry shared five reasons why female friendships are important for women’s health.
The first reason is that your female friend(s) most times understand you better than men because they can relate to you better than men in terms of experiences. Women can be more empathetic because they share similar experiences in life.
The second reason builds on this in the sense that female friends can offer you a fresh perspective on issues because they share similar experiences. A third reason in support of female friendships is that such friendships can offer honesty in a way that men may not. Recent research shows that most times, female friends know women better than their partners/husbands.
The fourth reason why female friendship is beneficial to a woman’s health is that such friendships tend to get better with age. The average duration of female friendships is said to be 16 years. The longer you know your female friends, the more they are comfortable pushing you to excel in your career and personal life.
The final reason is that female friendships can help you deal with stress in a way that male friendships may not be able to because women and men react differently to stress. Don’t do life alone. Go a step further and be a friend indeed to another woman.
Call to action: What does friendship mean to you? How have your female friendships helped your health? How can you be a good friend to your female friends? Is there a woman around you that needs a friend? How can you be a friend indeed to such a woman?
