What are the benefits of friendships?

Good friends are good for your health. Friends can help you celebrate good times and support you during bad times. Friends help keep you from feeling alone. Friends also can:

• Raise your sense of connection, belonging and purpose.
• Boost your happiness and lower your stress.
• Improve your self-confidence and feelings of self-worth.
• Help you cope through hard times, such as divorce, serious illness, job loss or the death of a loved one.
• Urge you to change or avoid habits that aren't healthy. These might include drinking too much or not exercising.

Friends also play a big role in your overall health. Adults with strong social connections have a lower risk of many health problems. That includes depression, high blood pressure and an unhealthy weight. In fact, studies have found that older adults who have close friends and healthy social supports are likely to live longer than do their peers who have fewer friends.