Their lack shortens our life expectancy
Worse than obesity or alcoholism, lack of friends would endanger our health. The loneliness it generates would put us at risk of dying prematurely, if we judge the study of the University of Rochester, in the United States, published in the journal Psychology and Aging. The survey carried out over thirty years advises making friends from the age of 20 to benefit later.
They develop our empathy
Friendship also rhymes with empathy. Researchers at the University of Virginia in the United States have found that the brain activity of an endangered person is similar to that seen when a close friend is threatened. “Humans come together to thrive. Our goals and resources are common. If a danger threatens a friend, it threatens our resources and goals,” explains the study, relayed by the Huffington Post.fr.
They help us cope with stress
Friends support us and make us better equipped to endure difficult trials. American psychologist Sheldon Cohen, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA, confirms this idea to medical website WebMD: “They provide material help, emotional support and information that helps you fight. stressors “.
They make us take care of ourselves
No question of letting go to the depression. Formidable obstacles to going around in circles, friends push us around and encourage us to move forward, again according to the American psychologist: “Friends encourage you to take care of yourself. And we observe that it is the people who have a network. social workers who have better self-esteem, and feel they have more control over their lives. “
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