Life with Jen – The Importance of Girlfriends

Life with Jen #10

As I get excited to go spend the weekend with two wonderful friends I find myself thinking about the topic “The Influence of Girlfriends in Your Life”.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject……I also want to share some cool things I have read on the subject.

Friends add meaning and value to our lives.  They enrich our experiences, bring us joy and share our problems.  Our friends are very important in our lives….they are our mirrors and our sounding boards.  This is all true….IF…..you have the right friends.

“Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life.”  — unknown.

Choosing the right friend is not easy.  We have all had experiences in our life when a person we thought was bringing positive energy into our life was in the long run not the right fit.  You grow in different directions or over time realize that this person doesn’t make you feel good about yourself. Those friendships are important because they represent our personal growth. The people you surround yourself with influence your life in many ways – it’s important to chose friends that will enrich your life and that will contribute to making you a better person.

Friendship Research:

• Married men live longer than single men but women who marry have the same life expectancy as those who don’t.  However, women with strong female friendship live longer than those without them.
• Women feel less stressed and their blood pressure goes down when surrounded by their girlfriends…..again….that would be around the “right” girlfriends.  When around our girlfriends our bodies will emit “oxytocin” which is the hormone that makes us “feel” good.  The right girlfriends are a natural way to reduce our stress.  There was one study that showed that when male rodents were faced with high stress they ran to their female partners…..when those same female rodents were faced with high stress they ran to the females they were raised with.  Interesting.
• Our self-esteem is influenced by our girlfriends.  When you have positive relationships with your girlfriends they help raise your self-esteem.  This I found very important to remember when understanding who to surround yourself with.
• One study reported that women without strong social girlfriend ties risk health issues similar to being overweight or being a smoker.

Want to feel less stressed, feel like a prettier person inside and out, be healthier and happier……spend time with your girlfriends.

That is exactly what I am going to do next weekend………..and I can’t wait