Adult Friendships

All throughout our lives we go through different stages of life. Each of us go through them at all different rates. These stages can include marriage, a baby, new house, job or even going away to college. As we are going through these changes our friends can get lost in the shuffle. Why does this happen?

Big events or stages of our lives can make a big impact us and it can change the person we were beforehand. One major life change is having a baby. It can change the mother and father by the way they think and act. Sometimes friends who do not have children tend to not understand why you can’t hang out with them at the mall on Saturday, because your child needs rest.”There will be instances when plans with a friend will simply not pan out or you may not be able to see one another for some time” (Waugh, Chantel, 2019). Another factor that usually occurs is, your friend no longer feels like they have anything in common with you anymore. This is a key factor in the beginning processes of becoming friends. A positive outcome of going through this stage in your life is, as new parents they begin to develop new friendships with other parents. The reason this occurs is because now they have something in common, like children. Their kids may even attend the same school (Wagle, Stephanie).


(Waugh, Chantel, 2019)
Friendships should not be forgotten about. It is a crucial relationship in life that helps maintain our happiness in our busy lives. Friendships cause people to feel happy, relieve anxiety and depression by being around your friends. When we spend time with our friends it can also improve our physical health by strengthening our immune, cardiovascular system and more (Wagle, Stephanie). No matter how busy or crazy your life gets, it is important to make time for your friends.


References:

Wagle, Stephanie. “The Friendship Crisis: Making and Keeping Friends as an Adult.” Parents, www.parents.com/parenting/relationships/friendship/making-and-keeping-friends-as-an-adult/.

Waugh, Chantel. “Overcoming the Problems of Adult Friendships.” Reflect & Refresh, 6 Mar. 2019, reflectandrefresh.org/2019/02/28/overcoming-the-problems-of-adult-friendships/.

1 comment

  1. Precious R Mackey

    You mentioned the life change such as a new baby and the drifting of relationships often seen as a result of different interests. A factor noted in friendship development and enduring relationships is convenience. Interestingly enough, in a personal annecdote, I’ve seen this to be true even with the advances of technology and increasing methods of continuing long distant contant. A Dutch sociologist studied over a thousand individuals and after seven years reevaluated their friendships. It was revealed that the number of friends remained fairly constant, but the individuals that made up those number of friends changed. Only 30% of the original friendships remained.
    References:
    Levine, I. S. (2011, November 17). The Seven-Year Expiration Date on Friendships. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-seven-year-expiration_n_208468

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