Tips On Friendship

Communication And Friendship
By Don McKay

"One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible."-Henry Brooks Adams. True friends are rare. It has been said that friendship doubles our joys and halves our sorrows.

Some may feel that friends are not necessary, sadly, to their regret, they learn all too late in life, we all need true friends. In fact, the quality of your life depends much on the quality (not the quantity) of your friendships. Healthy friendships are essential to our mental and physical well-being. Dr. David Weeks, a neurophysiologist said "I have a high proportion of patients with anxieties, phobias, and depression who could be described as lonely. There are connections between the severity of depression and the severity of loneliness."

A market survey revealed that "in the United Sates 25 percent of the adult population suffer 'chronic loneliness' and . . . in France half the people have experienced acute isolation." The explosions of computer chat rooms, the proliferation of dating clubs, and profusion of newspaper advertisements by those seeking companionship, are indicators that we all need human contact. And what better contact can we have than a true friend?

The answers to the following questions should help us in our search for good friends. What is a friend? How can I find a true friend? How can I keep my friends? And how can I be a true friend?