Friendship helps you age healthier

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Extract from the article: Having friends is a real benefit to physical and mental health. Strong friendships are essential to well-being, especially as we age. According to the study «Friendship Importance Around the World: Links to Cultural Factors, Health, and Well-Being» p

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Having friends is a real benefit to physical and mental health. Strong friendships are essential to well-being, especially as we age. According to the study «Friendship Importance Around the World: Links to Cultural Factors, Health, and Well-Being» published in «Frontiers in Psychology» (2021), older people surrounded by close friends are healthier and happier. This social bond has an even greater impact than family relationships. Strong friendships are associated with a reduced risk of depression in the elderly. Friendship is defined as a feeling of affection between two people; an attachment, a sympathy that one person shows to another outside of family and love. 

Prof. William Chopik, Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University (USA) and lead author of the study, points out that having friends you can count on reduces the risk of chronic illness and increases your sense of happiness. Long-standing friendships offer invaluable support, often more so than family relationships, which are sometimes marked by obligations. 

Robert Waldinger, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University (USA) and co-author of « The Good Life», shows the highlights the longevity of older people who have maintained their social ties most frequently. He believes that friendship has an impact on overall health. Being able to talk in confidence to a friend in a moment of panic or anxiety, for example, helps to reduce tension, and in the long term prevents the development of stress-related pathologies. Being able to count on friendships that make us feel less alone can be associated with a number of benefits. For example, the study «Advancing Social Connection as a Public Health Priority in the United States» published in «American Psychologist» observed greater concern for one's own health, improved self-esteem, reduced symptoms of depression and a greater tendency to comply with treatment plans proposed by health professionals. This also helps them to cope better with the challenges that can arise with aging, such as loss of certain abilities or bereavement.

Elom AKAKPO