Are you ready for some really great news? Getting together with a friend is not only fun, but it's also great for your health and happiness.

We all know how important our Dear Family, is but our friends might prove to be even more important, especially as we age. Research published in the journal Personal Relationships studied more than 270,000 people in nearly 100 countries. What it found was both family and friend relationships were associated with better health and happiness but the benefits remained over a lifetime for people who reported strong friendships. This means our friendships are more predictive of our day-to-day happiness and ultimately how long we'll live, even more so than spousal and family relationships.

Let's break that down.

• Friendship is really good for you.
• You can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends.
• When your friends are a source of support, you are happier and healthier and live longer.
• To have a friend be a friend.
• Friendship makes life worth celebrating.

Over a year ago some of my oldest friends and I started a "Pandemic Group Chat" as a means of support during such an anxiety-producing time. I never expected it would become a lifeline proving my closest friendships were even more important than I had ever imagined.

Wanting to see if my girlfriends felt as I did, I was thrilled when seven out of ten of them were able to hop on a Zoom and let me ask them questions about our friendship with a day's notice. Yes there were husbands and kids coming in and out of our rooms and dogs were barking and texts and emails were dinging and phones were ringing and dinner needed to be made…but it didn't stop us from making time for each other and feeling all the feels. When we hung up, or I should say "left the room," we felt lighter and happier and more connected…just some of the many benefits of friendship.

I want to thank my phenomenal friends, Allison Bronson, Jill Chizever, Lauren Rojany, Jessica Sacks-Davimos, Deborah Singer, Denise Snanoudj, and Kim Gursey-Wills for sharing so openly and jumping in headfirst to help support a friend. You know what they say, "Old friends are the best friends."

Make sure to listen to hear why we are each others' Crockers and learn so much more as we answer:

*What is a friend?

*What's your favorite thing to do with a friend?

*Do you consider your closest friends to be your chosen family and if so, why?

*What is it about old friends? Tell us about a friendship that has survived the test of time?

*What's the nicest thing a friend has done for you?

*What did our pandemic group chat show you about friendship? How have your friendships fared during the pandemic?

*Like in the movie "When Harry Met Sally," can men and women be friends?

*Some of our friendships are going on 45 years now (granted we were 5 when we met). What's it like to grow old with your friends? What are the benefits?

*What's the first thing you want to do with your friends once we're all vaccinated?

SHOW NOTE LINKS:

Corresponding Article- Dear Friends, You're Like Family

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Thank you! Your support means the world to me. Wishing you love, happiness, and good mental health always.