A close friend is someone you can talk to about everything in confidentiality. He makes you feel comfortable, is not judgmental, and always there for you. He does not sell you out or bring you down for all the wealth in the world.
And they are as important as gold in old age because they get rarer each day due to death or incapacity.
Lest you get off track, all friendships are important especially in your senior years. Even casual friends can improve your social, emotional and physical well-being. And a strong circle of friends can boost heart health, and strengthens the immune system.
But one very close friend can do much more in relieving stress and depression. A close friend provides emotional support and comfort, and a good venue for a two-way communication.
A close friend is someone who remains standing with you when others have fallen or fled.
So if you still don’t have at least one, start working on it now.
How to develop close friendship(s)
It takes a long time of constant and cordial interaction to develop close friendship with someone. Sadly, relocation, infirmity or death often disrupts this life-long bonding leaving a lot of seniors lonely and pining for the “good old days.”
If you are one of them, don’t lose hope. You can start all over again. Be sure, however, to get the right one. Look for someone who…
1. Can offer emotional support and guidance
A person willing to support you on a consistent basis through your highs and lows will good a good close friend. Someone who withers your emotional storms with you, and offer you guidance and advice when you need it.
2. Knows when to give and when to take
Good friendships are based on mutuality. Some sort of “what is mine is yours,” in a lot of respect. While some people are natural givers, I know a few, but most are like piggy banks – they get fat on the good graces of others.
Both you should work on a balance of giving and taking. Anything short of that cannot sustain a healthy and long-lasting relationship.
3. Brings out the best in you
Encourages you to become a better version of yourself.
He is supportive of your plans and helps your achieve your personal goals, and offers sound advice on issues that stump you.
In other words, he is your personal cheering squad.
4. Are in the same wavelength with you
Being on the same wavelength does not mean agreeing on everything. It means being able to communicate with each other in clear, concise way. And should you disagree with each other, it would not result to a permanent parting of ways.
Even the best of friends can get into nasty fights. Somehow, they always find ways to mend fences and get on with their lives as if nothing happened.
Finding and developing close friendships in old age is difficult. But not impossible.
And if you don’t want to miss out on the importance of close friends in your life, it is best to start working to have one now.
Importance of close friends
We all need friends. From the time we come of age until we are grey and bent with age, we need them. They come and go until, in our seniors years, what’s left can be counted with the fingers – the close friends.
They are important because they…
1. Complement you
In the U.S., nearly 12 million elderly people live alone according to the American Psychological Association. Away from family, or none at all, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for you to do some of your daily routine without a close friend.
Someone you can go the grocery with, or have a cup of coffee; to call in case or emergencies or to chat with to drive away loneliness.
2. Help slow down mental health decay
Approximately, over 20% of adults, aged 60 above, suffer from a mental or neurological disorder, i.e., depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, etc.
Close friends can spot if something is right or wrong, provide emotional support and pursuing a healthy lifestyle. They also can help in seeking the right help should it be necessary.
3. Keep you well-nourished
Studies show that live-along seniors do not prepare full, balanced meals resulting to malnutrition. To make matters worse is the fact that age induces a loss of appetite among a lot of seniors.
Eating is a social activity and having a close friend help prepare your food, or dine with you regularly can solve this problem.
3. Help keep you in good physical shape
More than 31 million Americans age 50 and above don’t exercise. They keep the medical profession busy treating their heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other medical issues due to lack of exercise.
As a health-buff senior, I keep to my exercise schedule religiously. Others may need to be dragged out of bed to start sweating it out. If you are this type, a close friend will be very handy, indeed.
That may be putting it too harshly, but I know a lot of seniors who brisk walk or jog with a close friend. They talk, they banter, they joke as they go for a few laps. It’s kind of motivating.
4. They don’t make you feel alone
It’s tough to be live alone. I know because I live alone. Though it is by choice but there are times when I ache for companionship, for somebody to talk to.
Though it is not so bad in my case because my daughter is just a short drive or a phone call away, but nothing beats having someone within reach, someone who is just across the road or over-the-fence away – such as a close friend.
Aging, and the changes it brings, is not for sissies. The lack of regular activities and shrinking social circle can take their toll on elderly people with less grit in their heart. It requires a strong determination to come out a winner each day. And winning is easier if there is a close friend who eggs you on, to motivate you to wake up each day with a smile.
~oOo~
