Ways to Reduce Stress:
the Importance of Having a Best Friend
Friendships are meant to be a safe haven and can provide many ways to reduce stress in your life. These enriching relationships should be full of love and laughter and provide a refuge from the stressors that can inhabit your days that often feel like merry-go-rounds spinning out of control. With so much to do in any given day, it can become easy to fall into the trap of feeling down on yourself and becoming your own worst enemy. That’s where best friends come into the picture.
Having a best friend enables you to reverse this thinking process. A best friend is someone you can talk to about the way you feel about yourself. She can offer ways to reduce stress in your life by providing insights and understanding as well as providing a good ear for listening and the ability to share with humor, good food and honest feedback.
Everyone needs someone trustworthy who can provide honest feedback. Having someone to confide in is really important right? But the key is whether this person can keep a secret. A secret is a secret. You don’t need someone who listens to your tale of woe and then gossips about it. A solid friendship requires trust and honesty. If you are screwing up, it is nice to have someone tell you so in a loving and non judgmental way. One of the best ways to reduce stress in your life is to have someone who can keep a helpful eye on how you are doing and be able to stop things before they get out of hand. Find that person! You’ll be glad you did.
Find someone who supports you—someone who will not sit by and watch you get picked on, teased, or taken advantage of. Find a person who will always stay by your side, even if you just need someone to share a space without saying anything. They help by just being there. A friend who will stick by when things seem tough is worth more than money can buy.
Have someone who knows how to listen to your problems without trying to solve them. O.k. So I tell my problems to my dogs. They are very good, and they never act like they have the perfect solution. They just listen and support. Maybe that’s why a dog is man’s (and woman’s) best friend. Life hands out some tough lessons, and having a friend who can let you vent can be one of the healthiest ways to reduce stress that has just been heaped on your otherwise perfectly calm day. Talking about your feelings acts as a releasing mechanism, and you can find that talking about your problems with your best friend may help the solution to the problem come to light and will help to release blocked emotions.
Have someone who shares your values. Surround yourself with likeminded women who share the same core values. It puts you on equal footing with shared perspectives and shared priorities in life. As a best friend, you need someone who reflects the core characteristics of character that are most important to you. It is one of the important aspects you have in common, and a person who shares your value system will not be judgmental and will be able to share in a conversation that offers ways to reduce stress in your life situations as well as share in your successful accomplishments. You both will be viewing life through the same set of lens as you perceive the world around you.
What is your responsibility? Be a good friend back. Be there when your friend needs to talk with you. Share with support, trust, humor and love. But above all, be honest. It doesn’t matter if your best friend is 2-footed or 4-footed, or God above. The point is that to survive in this world, you need a support system. No one should travel this life journey alone. Get out and check local organizations that you enjoy to meet people who have similar interests and values. You don’t need thousands of twitter BFF’s but you do need to find a soulful friend who can be a good anchor. As Robert Fulghum reminds us all: “When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.” It makes the world a safer place and it’s a reason for best friends.
Ways to Reduce Stress: Knowing Your Core Values
Pets Are Great Best Friends
How to Deal with Stress
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