Adult friendships can be one of the most positive influences on your health and happiness. Research teaches us that maintaining social bonds can just be as important to your health as other lifestyle factors. That’s because friendship is a powerful, enriching force associated with well-being
and resilience.
Making friends during your youth was easy—but as adults, it feels more challenging. You’re busy with work and family, have less free time, and fewer built-in opportunities to socialize. Perhaps familiar old friendships and patterns are no longer meeting your needs. Maybe you’re unsure how to connect
and feel awkward. Established social circles can be difficult to enter. Did you ever feel this way?
Your adult friendships may be disrupted for many reasons—job changes, relocation, lifestyle differences, marriage, divorce, starting a family, experiencing illness, or becoming a caregiver.
Storyteller Brené Brown has said that “connections grow through authenticity and vulnerability—not perfection.” This means that small, intentional, and consistent efforts to connect can lead to meaningful relationships. Instead of wondering how to get people to like you, shift the focus to being curious about others and getting to know them better. This reduces the pressure, removes judgment, and allows us to simply enjoy ourselves.
6 Benefits of Adult Friendships
- Reduced Loneliness and Isolation
- Enjoy more connection, optimism, and resilience. Just knowing someone cares about you
and listens helps to create a sense of belonging.
- Better Physical Health
- Enjoy better cardiovascular health, more refreshing sleep, easier recovery from illness, and a longer lifespan than those who are socially isolated.
- Emotional Support
- Enjoy a safe place to share concerns and fears, get encouragement and perspective, celebrate successes and milestones, and get help in navigating changes.
- Less Stress and Anxiety
- Enjoy improved mood, feelings of belonging and security, more manageable challenges,
and reduced stress hormones.
- Personal Growth
- Enjoy honest feedback, help in seeing both strengths and blind spots, introduction to new ideas and encouragement to be our best self.
- A Sense of Community and Purpose
- Enjoy new experiences beyond work and family, and a supportive social circle based on shared interests, kindness, and trust.
In part 2, we will explore why making friends in adulthood feels harder and how you can learn new ways to make friends.