Greetings, friends!
Friendship is a special relationship between people based on mutual understanding, honesty and trust. Having at least one true friend is one of the most important components of a happy and successful life. Each of us has our own understanding of what friendship is and when it can be considered real. People often call friends all the friends with whom they spend a lot of time, periodically go somewhere on vacation or visit them. But true friendship is much more than just friendly relations. Let's find out.
What is friendship?
Friendship is a close relationship between people that involves complete trust, sincerity and honesty, as well as a strong emotional connection and affection. The key feature of friendship is mutual understanding. They say that friends understand each other perfectly. And indeed it is. Sometimes a nod or a subtle gesture is enough for your friend to immediately understand what you are trying to tell him. The presence of such nuances, invisible to others, but very informative for friends, is one of the components of close friendship.
True friendship involves a high level of emotional connection between people. Friends feel each other’s moods, can share joys and sorrows, are able to truly sympathize and support in difficult times, and selflessly help when the need arises. Friendship necessarily involves complete mutual openness, devotion, trust and readiness to help at any moment.
Why is friendship needed?
True friendship is an important component of a successful life. For most people, it is valuable in itself. They do not look for additional reasons and arguments, because they understand that without it, life would be less rich and interesting. But don't underestimate the practical value of friendship, because friends have a significant impact on other areas of our lives, even if we don't notice it.
Psychologists say that 80% of our success in life is determined by our environment. Therefore, it is important to have friends nearby who always support you, sincerely rejoice at your successes and help you in difficult situations without hesitation. A true friend will not pull you down, will not laugh at your failure and will always support your choice. In addition, studies have shown that people who are confident that they have real friends are less stressed and even have stronger immunity.
FAQ
Let's take a look at the most popular questions about friendship.
What to do if you have no friends?
If you think that you have no close people nearby, then we advise you to read the article on what to do if you have no friends. In short, everyone can be your potential friend. Just be open to the world and don't be afraid of social events. Having a large number of social connections that appear there increases the chances of finding a true friend. Through conflicts, accidents and events that appear there.
How to make peace with a friend
In this situation, a lot depends on the character and personal qualities of your friend. Therefore, you must understand what techniques to use in order to make peace. But in general, you can stick to the following:
- If your friend doesn't make the first move, make one yourself;
- Try to work through and resolve the conflict. You can use methods of reflection and “I-messages”;
- Don't judge;
- Try to step into your friend’s shoes and look at the conflict from his side;
- Try to analyze how you would act in a similar situation with another person in your friend’s place;
- Try to meet in person. Finding out relationships on social networks does not lead to anything good. It is better to have a long but personal and fruitful conversation;
- If you are guilty and admit it, sincerely confess to your friend.
How to communicate with a friend at a distance
Today you can meet friends not only in person, but also on the Internet. Of course, nothing can replace offline communication. But if this is the case, don’t hang your nose. Today there are many programs and applications that allow you to constantly stay in touch. This can be either social networks or calls (video calls).
It is recommended to maintain more video or audio communication at a distance. This is what allows you to continue to feel the person’s closeness to you.
There is no need to be offended if you do not want to meet. In the modern world, if you really want to, you can always see each other. even if the person lives in another country.
Also, don't try to be jealous of new people in your friend's life. This will greatly reduce the quality of your communication and destroy trust.
Even at a great distance from each other you can remain friends
How to stop being friends with someone and become something more
Friendship can develop into a romantic relationship over time, even years later. However, it is impossible to make a person feel something towards you. Love and sympathy are a complex reaction of the body and psyche. Therefore, it is impossible to predict when this will happen or whether it will happen at all.
Tell your friend how you feel. Sincere and true friendship will not be destroyed by this. Therefore, you will either become a couple, or stop communicating and realize that there was no friendship, or continue your communication without changes.
Don't try to blame him for not having reciprocal feelings for you. That is, you don’t need to say “Well, I’m so good, why don’t you like me!” Also, do not try to force them out of your friend.
Leave this question to time and circumstances. And don’t cheat yourself and don’t project your love. It is important to realistically realize that nothing may come of this.
How to stop talking to a friend
If the person is your true friend, then tell him honestly about your desire. Explain what you are not happy with. Tell us why communication became uncomfortable for you. If a person treats you with respect, then he will accept your choice and will not experience negativity.
How is friendship different from love?
Sometimes friendship is compared to love, but these are two completely different types of affection. Love is an unconditional feeling that can be felt towards children, parents or other relatives. It can be romantic or platonic. At the same time, it changes perception, preventing us from considering the shortcomings of a loved one. An interesting feature of love is that loving people are not always honest with their loved ones.
With friendship, things are completely different - it is not “blind”. Even the strongest friendship will not force us to look at each other through rose-colored glasses. We see his shortcomings and mistakes , and point them out to him if we deem it necessary. Directness and honesty are the main criteria of true friendship. If we are afraid to offend a loved one with an unpleasant truth, then we cannot lie to a friend. In addition, we do not strive to idealize our friends. The main thing is that you can rely on this person.
Quarrels between friends happen less often than between loving people, and most contradictions can be resolved fairly quickly. Typically, people who have long-standing friendly relations know well what topics they may have disagreements on, and avoid them in conversation, preferring to discuss more interesting things and events. A true friend is afraid of distances and long separations. Friends living in different cities can see each other once a year and have a great time together.
Kinds
During a person’s life, different things happen, everything changes, he goes through different stages of development, he has different relationships: very long and quickly ending. But in any case, it is always an experience, positive or negative, but useful. The types of friendship at different times of life between representatives of different sexes may also have certain differences.
Children's
The baby learns to make friends from childhood. Of course, his parents actively help him with this, putting him in the right frame of mind. A friendly child will make contact and find friends faster. It is pleasant for both peers and adults to communicate with such a child.
At such a young age, friendship comes down to playing games together, and possibly activities. But even in this case, each child draws conclusions and learns to express sympathy. Thus, a pupil of the middle or senior group may understand that it is with this girl that she is more comfortable and enjoyable playing with dolls or making Easter cakes in the sandbox. And if, for example, one does not attend kindergarten, the other is already bored.
There are cases when children maintain this connection for a long time, they go to first grade together, then become friends at school. During this time, people sometimes become so close that even after graduation it is difficult to separate, and the relationship is maintained.
Youth
Teenagers are often united by common interests, hobbies, and the same view on certain things. On this basis, close communication arises, which develops into strong friendship. This can happen to both a guy and a girl. And it is not at all necessary that these are exclusively two people. Sometimes both girls and boys are friends in threes or fours.
At the same age, friendship occurs between a boy and a girl, which can remain only at this stage or develop into love. But still, in most cases, friendship is offered by a boy, if it does not arise spontaneously, but people have a desire to communicate and be together.
Women's
A woman needs friendship. But there is not always a chance to meet a truly devoted friend. Some even sneer, believing that such a phenomenon as friendship between women does not exist. Of course, this is not true. Probably, it largely depends on the person himself how much he is able to give. Only in this case there is a chance to get it.
Girlfriends can be together from school to college; they can meet at work, in a fitness club, or on a tour. Dating can happen anywhere. The main thing is a commonality of interests and views.
It is very important for women to spend time together, go to the movies, go for walks, meet at someone’s house just to chat, discuss the latest news, share problems. Often women are tied together by children, they take them to kindergarten together, discuss their problems. But this, of course, does not always happen.
Women have intuition, instinct, are able to empathize and provide support. And very often, talking with a friend in critical situations becomes a good substitute for visiting a psychologist.
The main thing is to be sure that this person can be trusted.
Friends who have been together for a long time, and their friendship has been tested over the years, are confident in each other. They calmly trust their secrets and know that in difficult times they have someone to turn to for support. And also there is a person with whom you can have a fun and pleasant time and take your mind off the daily routine. Both are of great importance in life. Therefore, it is very important to have a good, faithful friend and at the same time be one for her.
Men's
Men are no different in this regard. They also know how to be friends, and they have their own problems and desire to share with a friend. Very often, men develop joint hobbies, which certainly strengthen the relationship. This could be football matches or even playing football in a team, tourist rafting, hunting and fishing. Many people even need a trip to the sauna in a group of men just to relax and unwind and chat with friends.
A man, especially if he has to be at work most of the time, wants to have a reliable friend with whom he can share his thoughts, ask for advice, and even discuss the situation in the country and the world. Often men are friends in groups of 4–5 people. But even in such a company there will be those who are closer to each other, trust more, and meet more often. And only on special occasions do friends get together.
It is not uncommon for people to become family friends. This is a very good way to strengthen families, have fun, and make friends with children. Such joint meetings are reminiscent of interest clubs.
Men can play billiards or cook barbecue, children will play their games, and women will discuss the latest innovations, successes or problems at work.
How is friendship different from camaraderie?
Many people misunderstand what friendship is, confusing it with companionship. They call all the people they interact with regularly as friends. However, camaraderie and true friendship are two different things. Comrades are people who are part of a regular social circle and have enough common topics to talk about. You can meet with a friend to talk or do something interesting. Partnership implies a fairly close acquaintance and the presence of common interests. If everyone leaves and you are left alone, there will be no awkwardness. You will quickly find an interesting topic for communication, but you will not share your innermost experiences with a friend.
The main difference between friendship and partnership is the degree of mutual trust. If in the process of communication you begin to trust your friend more, then over time he may well become your friend. Companions are often students studying in the same group. But after graduation, they usually see each other only at alumni meetings. If friendship arises between two students, they do not lose touch and find reasons for regular meetings and communication.
Alarm bells
Some people for whom opposite-sex friendships are considered the norm may be surprised by a sudden declaration of love. And moreover, they are not ready for this. After all, love is not always mutual, and some people are not able to fall in love after a while; most likely, they belong to the category for whom the feeling of falling in love covers at the beginning of a relationship.
Does friendship develop into love?! Definitely yes.
Let's look at the signs by which you can determine that your friend is in love with you.
- He started calling you very often. Starts to regularly spend his free time with you. And sometimes he even changes his plans for the sake of the next meeting.
- I am happy to go shopping with you for a long time. Or your friend agrees to a joint vacation in the form of hiking and fishing, although previously she was absolutely uninterested in such entertainment.
- Rejects your attempts to introduce her to a nice guy. Or introduce him to an interesting girl.
- If you have a significant other, then a true friend will always give good advice if you have love problems. A person who is in love with you, on the contrary, will point out shortcomings, trying to destroy your relationship, even if not consciously.
- Flirting, gentle touching and obsessive attention are among the main signs of a romantic relationship.
