Friendship is a fundamental aspect of human life as it plays a crucial role in the overall wellbeing of person. Existence of friends in an individual’s life is not only vital for the social-being of the individual but also the health of the individual. In quite a number of studies carried out by psychologists and behavioral experts, friendship has proven a vital aspect in human life especially when handling patients with mental health problems, an example is a study carried out in 2009 by the Journal of the National Medical Association which studied a group of men and women in New York city. The study revealed that men and women who had been accompanied by friends and had opened up to their friends concerning their health had significantly lower pulse and blood pressure rates. The role that friendship therefore plays in influencing the overall health of a person cannot be ignored. Apart from the benefits that friendship is accompanied with in relation to health, there is also the darker side of friendship in relation to friends especially who have negative attitudes and behavioral short comings.
Key words: Mental health, behavioral, blood pressure, pulse, friendship.
Friendship and Mental HealthIntroduction
Living with a mental health condition could prove to be difficult especially considering the psychological state associated with individuals with mental health problems. Persons with mental health conditions often find themselves lonely and deserted which makes their condition even more difficult. Friendship is vital in the quest to ensure mental health as well as physical and overall health. While good friends good help one improve his/her mental health, bad friends on the other hand could ruin one’s mental health. The role that friends play influencing our mental health therefore is an aspect that cannot be ignored. This paper therefore analyzes how friendship could lead to good or poor mental health in and individual.
Most of the people with mental health conditions find it difficult to find friends or even maintain the existing ones when they develop mental health problems. True friends would not let their colleague on his/her own when faced with mental health problems, fake friends however will isolate themselves from a colleague friend who develops mental health problems. This is just an example of how friendship affects mental health. Those friends that maintain their friendship when their colleague is faced with mental health conditions play a crucial role in ensuring the recovery and wellbeing of the individual. On the other side of the coin, friends who isolate themselves from their colleagues who develop mental problems tend to even worsen the mental state of their friend. An individual who suffers isolation from his/her friends once he/she develops a mental problem is less likely to recover from the mental state. The stigma that comes with some of the mental conditions often renders the individual lonely and if friends are not there to provide emotional support to the individual, chances that the individual to recover from the mental state are minimal (Mental Health Foundation (London, England), 2007).
A question that strikes every individual’s mind when it comes to their mental health is often whether or not they should open up their mental health issues to their friends. Most of the people especially men don not have the courage to open up to their friends on matters concerning their mental health. Women on the other hand tend to be more open towards opening up about issues of mental health. Some people will see some benefit in telling their friends about their mental health, others are less likely to do so. Some will open up to some specific close friends whom they deem trustworthy and who won’t tell on them. Considering the sensitivity accorded to mental health issues, it is advisable therefore to open up to friends whom one deems as close and friends who are less likely to have a negative influence on your mental health, friends who will understand you and appreciate who you are. One can benefit from opening up to friends who understand and appreciate them in that they will be able to avoid the loneliness and stigma that is often associated with people with mental health problems. On the other hand, one is likely to suffer poor mental health if he/she associates himself with friends who don’t really understand their condition or their overall mental health (Muenchberger, Kendall, " Wright, 2013).
Friendships are very important in ensuring mental fitness. There is therefore need to not only have friends but to also try and ensure we try and build this friendship into a healthier and ethical relationship. One can improve his/her mental health as well ensure fitness of their mental state by choosing and maintaining the right friendship. Choosing the right kind of friendship where individuals develop one another in a healthy manner is crucial in ensuring mentally fitness. A kind of friendship where individuals are able to express themselves freely and openly is so vital for ensuring the individuals share and express their feelings and ideas on mental health freely and openly. Developing and maintaining such kind of friendship is one of the best ways that psychiatrist and health practitioners recommend an individual should do to maintain mental fitness and ensure mental health (Swinton, 2000). The kind of friends that one associates with when experiencing mental problems also do matter. Isolation is one of the problems that people with mental health issues go through, having friends who cheer one up and try to uplift one during such times is vital for ensuring recovery from the mental problem being experienced.
Friendship has often been misunderstood and under-appreciated with regards to the role it plays in not only ensuring good mental health but the overall health of individual. According to a summary of all the literature that dwell on the effect and role of relationships on health, published in the Personality and Social Psychology review, friendship ought to be understood correctly, appreciated and encouraged in the role that it plays on health. There are quite a number of reasons of how friendship ensure good mental health (Karren, 2006).
Reasons why friendships matter in relation to good mental health
Individuals especially those with mental health problems find pleasure in just being around others. The satisfaction that someone is there to back you up in case a situation arises just gives one the energy to continue going and it the case of mental health problems, individuals safe motivated by having friends around them and would likely to recover quickly. The laughter and humor that friends would often engage in builds on their self-esteem as well as their confidence in themselves. In friendships people share and check out one another’s behaviors, this often helps individuals be able to handles situations that arise at the course of their lives since they can be able to borrow some ideas on ways to handle certain issues from their friends. Knowing that there is support for one from his/her friends makes one to be secure and helps protect against stress. Stress which is one of the issues in mental health can therefore be reduced and tamed if efforts to encourage healthy friendships are increased. Sharing of life difficulties and mental issues with friends can help one reduce the emotional impact that could have otherwise resulted from the mental health issues that accumulate and cause stress and depression. it could also lead to an individual finding solutions to the mental health problems that he/she might be experiencing (Seaman " Eldridge, 2012). Friends often enjoy helping one another and having such friends would ensure that one is assisted especially when it comes to the challenges brought about by mental health issues. the give and take kind of relationship that exists between friends ensures that friends share ideas on how to develop and maintain mental health. As argued that a problem shared is a problem solved, friends who share their problems often find solutions and keeping at bay of not having friends to share your problems it even worsens one’s situation.
Signs of a bad friendship and the role it plays in poor mental health
Most people look up to friends for support, but when a friend does not seem to offer this support or intentionally seem to be avowing you when faced with challenges such as mental health problems, it can really damage one’s mental health. Our interactions and relationships with our friends really do matter in the development of our mental health however is these interactions and relationships are no fruitful enough, our mental health is at stake. It is the same interactions and relationships that ensures that we live a happy and healthier life (In McCormick " In Blair, 2014). Unfortunately, there are quite a number of unhealthy friendships based on dishonesty and selfishness. One of the sign of such friendships include excuses when it comes to helping one another, friends exhibiting this kind of behavior would render one helpless wand lonely when faced with mental health problems (Lundberg-Love, Nadal, " Paludi, 2012).
At times one feels some form of discomfort when around certain friends, this feeling of discomfort not only tells one that there are interacting with the wrong friends but also that somehow the friends maybe a source of the discomfort or the problems that one experiences. Feeling anxious or depressed when some of your friends are around is not a depiction of a good and healthy relationship. Such friendships contribute to poor mental health of individuals since the individuals are not there for one another. Friends ought to encourage you when you are experiencing challenges but when you have problems and you are finding it hard to share with your friends then solving this problem /issues may be difficult. A feeling of distress and discomfort in friendship is a sign of a poor relationship which therefore develops into poor mental health. One should therefore have friends who encourage them when faced with challenges and not friends whom there are not comfortable around them.
Real friends would never lack time for you especially when their friends are facing a difficult situation like mental health. When a difficult situation comes up and you find yourself being left alone despite having friends, just know that you are having the wrong kind of friends. The isolation that comes with friends of this kind even worsen the mental situation of the person who is in a difficult mental state. Individuals with mental health problems require close attention and affection and if friends are not there to provide this support then it is less likely that these individuals are going to recover from the mental condition (Leach, 2015).
Friendships where individuals are forced to hold back their thoughts and feelings about their affairs such as their mental health for example, are not good friendships. Goods friendships ought to be conducive for every individual to open up and express their feelings and ideas without fear or favor and without the aim of pleasing the others. Real friends would encourage their colleague who is experiencing mental health problems to open up and share their state with the others, fake friends on the other hand will discourage such individuals from sharing their feelings about their mental state citing the sensitivity of such matters (Lysaught, 2012).
Good friends understand and appreciate who you are, they don’t ask you to change some part of you and transform into someone else so that they can feel and appreciate you. Untrue friends on the contrary would make you feel that you are not part of them, this can be distressing to a person having mental health problems. A good friend ought to identify, appreciate and understand both your strengths and weaknesses and not be selective of your personality. Studies have indicated the significance of the affection and understanding that individuals with mental health conditions ought to be given by their friends as it not only develops their self-esteem but also encourages them that they got someone behind their back during their experience with the mental conditions. Having the wrong friends therefore is not suitable for individuals experiencing mental problems is it does not solve the problem but rather comes with even more devastating effects on the individual (Aggleton, Hurry, " Warwick, 2000).
Mental health and bad friendship also relate in the sense that some friends could lead one to developing mental health problems such as having friends who expose one to the use of drugs. Research has indicated that the abuse of drugs by most of the youths is a result of influence from their peers, the role that the abuse of drugs plays in damaging a user’s mental health cannot also be ignored. Friendships therefore whose uniting factor is engaging in certain acts such as drug abuse therefore are a threat to the mental health of individuals especially the youth.
Conclusion
On the basis of the analysis presented and the evidence available in the discussion above, it is evident that friendship plays a vital role in the ensuring either good or poor mental health. It is the choice of friends that determine whether one is going to live a happy and health mental life or a devastating poor mental life. Good friends are key in ensuring good mental health whereas bad friends are responsible for enabling poor mental health. We therefore ought to be careful in choosing and only relate with friends that develop and maintain our mental health since this not only ensures mental stability but also ensures our overall wellbeing in relation to our health.
References
Aggleton, P., Hurry, J., " Warwick, I. (2000). Young people and mental health. Chichester: Wiley.
In McCormick, J. H., " In Blair, S. L. (2014). Family relationships and familial responses to health issues.
Karren, K. J. (2006). Mind/body health: The effects of attitudes, emotions, and relationships. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings.
Leach, J. (2015). Improving mental health through social support: Building positive and empowering relationships.
Lundberg-Love, P. K., Nadal, K. L., " Paludi, M. A. (2012). Women and mental disorders. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Lysaught, M. T. (2012). On moral medicine: Theological perspectives in medical ethics. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.
Mental Health Foundation (London, England). (2007). Keeping us going: How mental health problems affect friendship and how friends can support each other. London: Mental Health Foundation.
Muenchberger, H., Kendall, E., " Wright, J. (2013). Health and healing after traumatic brain injury: Understanding the power of family, friends, community, and other support systems. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Seaman, B., " Eldridge, L. (2012). Voices of the women's health movement. New York: Seven Stories Press.
Swinton, J. (2000). Resurrecting the person: Friendship " care of people with mental health problems. Nashville, TN: Abingdon.
