#2 I Let A Friend Stay At My Place For Two Nights While I Was Out Of Town. It Was Neat And Clean When I Gave Her The Keys. This Is How She Left The Living Room
#3 So I Took A Friend Out On A Date, Cooked Her Pizza, Took Her Painting And This Is What She Posted Less Than An Hour Later
No man, or woman, is an island. We all need other people around us. Maybe not all the time. But definitely some of the time. Several studies show what a few of us might already suspect or know. People with close, good friends are happier and less lonely. Dr Miriam Kirmayer is a clinical psychologist who specializes in friendships and social connection. She says loneliness is literally bad for our health.
#4 I Showed My Friend My New Backpack, And She Said, "Come On, You Are An Adult"
#5 The Sheer Audacity Of Someone Who Stopped Associating With Our Friend Circle "To Pursue A Richer Life"
#6 Let My Buddy Borrow My Truck For A Couple Days
Kirmayer writes in The Guardian that loneliness can lead to anxiety and depression. It lowers our immune response. It negatively affects our brains. And it increases our risk of chronic health conditions including high blood pressure. “Research suggests that chronic loneliness may be as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day,” said Kirmayer. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
#7 Moving Across The Country In A Few Weeks, Invited My Friends To A Farewell BBQ. All Canceled Or Just Didn't Show
#8 My Dad Celebrated His 60th Last Night, A Majority Of His "Friends" Brought Bottles Of Wine As A Gift. He's Been Sober For Over 26 Years
#9 When Your Friend Blocks You Because You Didn’t Give Her Money After Your Mom Died
The American Psychological Association explains it like this: “Friendships protect us in part by changing the way we respond to stress. Blood pressure reactivity is lower when people talk to a supportive friend rather than a friend whom they feel ambivalent about.” One study found that having a friend next to us while completing a tough task had less heart rate reactivity than those working alone. While another study saw people judging a hill as less steep when accompanied by a friend.
#10 My Friend Drunkenly Stripped One Of My Garden Trees Of Its Bark
#12 Girlfriend’s Family Friend Stayed With Us For A Few Days To Help Take Care Of Her Grandmother. This Is What She Did To Our Knives
Bad friends could even unalive us. But not in the way you might think. An American study of more than 308 thousand people found that adults with no close friends, or bad friends, were twice as likely to die prematurely. A separate study of more than 480 thousand British people found that a lack of quality friendships and relationships increases our risk of heart attack, stroke and early death. If you needed a reason to trade in those toxic or fake friends for some genuine ones. This might be it.
#13 Sharing My Easter Cake With Three Friends. One Already Ate His "Equal And Fair" Share
#14 Friend Occasionally Goes Through My Photos On Social Media And Asks For My Clothes
Before then, she asked for another article of clothing. She apparently tried it on in stores and decided not to buy it. I happened to buy it and posted a picture while at an event. She asked for it, and I declined to hand it over. She got mad when I mentioned the store later had similar ones in stock. I’ve had no problems letting her choose from the stuff I’m going to donate, but it baffles me that someone with a ton of clothes and a well-paying job can go through someone’s photos and ask for their clothing.
#15 Whenever My Friend Is Over, He Always Leaves A Huge Mess For Me To Pick Up. Telling Him To Stop Doesn’t Work
Kirmayer notes that it’s more about quality than quantity when it comes to friendships and connections. Meaning, don’t expect to be happier and healthier just because you surround yourself with a whole bunch of people. Or strangers on social media. You could be doing more harm than good. So choose your crew wisely. That's not to say strangers can't bring unexpected joy to our lives. Now and again. As these people found out...
#16 Friend Borrowed My Phone, And He Dropped It From 8-Story Apartment Balcony. Who Knows How? He Refuses To Pay Me Back
#18 My Friend Just Broke My Several Million-Year-Old Piece Of Amber That I Got While I Was Living In Australia
“When we equate aloneness to loneliness, we act in ways that further our feelings of disconnection. We hold on to relationships that are imbalanced, draining, or unhealthy. We prioritize likes and follower counts over meaningful, reciprocated connections,” writes Kirmayer. “We tiptoe around conflicts, instead of addressing them in constructive ways… And we insert ourselves into social situations that make us feel uncomfortable, unsafe and unheard.”
#19 I Left My Friend In My Very Smoking Prohibited By Landlord Studio While I Went To Get Us Some Food. Came Back To Cigarette Butts In My Cereal Bowl
#20 My Now Ex-Friend Rolled My 2-Week-Old Car Into A Ditch And Fled The Scene
