Understanding and Nurturing Healthy Friendships
Friends are more than just people you hang out with. These are the connections that can shape your happiness, sense of belonging, and even your overall mental health and wellness. But like any type of relationship, friendships need understanding, effort, and care in order for them to thrive.
Recognizing what makes a friendship healthy, as well as how to keep it that way, can help you build stronger, more supportive bonds. Let’s learn more about understanding and nurturing healthy friendships.
Recognizing the Qualities of a Healthy Friendship
Healthy friendships are built on mutual respect, trust, and kindness. In the dynamics of a healthy relationship, both people involved feel valued, heard, and accepted for who they truly are. There’s room for honesty with one another without fear of judgment, and disagreements or conflict are handled with care rather than resentment.
Open and Honest Communication
Open, honest, and respectful communication keeps friendships strong. This means actively listening, sharing your open and honest thoughts, and checking in with one another regularly—not just when something’s wrong. Healthy friendships allow friends to talk through misunderstandings without letting them build up until they’re ready to explode.
Mutual Effort and Support
In strong and healthy friendships, mutual effort and support flow both ways. One partner isn’t always giving while the other is always taking. Both people involved make time for each other, celebrate each other’s wins, and show up for each other during hard times.
Support isn’t just about being there for those big life events. It’s also about the small and consistent actions that let the other person know that you’re there for them through the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Setting and Enforcing Healthy Boundaries
Boundaries can seem harsh at first, but they’re actually an essential component of all types of healthy relationships. Instead of looking at boundaries like walls, think of them more as guidelines to help ensure that your friendships are staying respectful and balanced.
Boundaries in a friendship could mean respecting one another’s privacy and personal space, time, and needs. Being able to set and enforce boundaries can strengthen trust because it shows one another how much you both care and want to keep the relationship on healthy terms.
Changing, Growing, and Evolving Together
Friendships often evolve as each person in the relationship grows. Healthy friendships can adapt to the many changes of life.
Adapting could mean navigating new jobs, moving to a different city or state, or adjusting to one another’s romantic relationships and partners. Being flexible and supportive with one another, especially through life changes, is a crucial part of nurturing a long-term friendship.
Addressing Rough Patches
You won’t be able to completely avoid challenging times or conflict, even in the healthiest of relationships. You and your friend are two completely different individuals. No matter how much you agree on things, you can’t possibly agree on everything.
There will be a point in your relationship where you don’t see eye to eye. And you know what? This is completely okay and even normal! When this time comes, make sure you’re not ignoring or dismissing how you're really feeling.
It’s always good to address any challenges or conflicts sooner rather than later. Try to take the time to recognize any unhealthy patterns and work to address them openly and honestly. Healthy relationships can handle this, and they’ll become stronger by doing so.
Consider Professional Support
Healthy relationships aren’t easy, but they’re worth it. Taking the time to better understand and nurture the relationships you have with your friends can make a significant difference in forming healthy bonds. If you’d like to explore nurturing your relationships further through adult counseling, consider reaching out to schedule an initial consultation.
Address
The Counseling Hub, LLC
2804 Forum Blvd., Ste 4
Columbia, MO 65203
Contact Information
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e | contact@thecounselinghub.com
Hours
Admin/Ops Team | Monday - Friday: 10a - 3p
*Clinical hours are by appointment only, Sunday - Friday
We have both clinical hours, or the times when our clinical team sees clients, and admin hours, or the times when our admin team is available via call or email.
