The Truth About Your Friends

As many of you probably have noticed, or maybe you haven't, but your friends can have a large impact on your life and your health. I recently read a Mayo Clinic article that discussed the ways that your friends can have a positive impact on you and it is amazing how true this article is.
Healthy friendships boost your self-esteem and contribute to good mental health. I have noticed this with my friends. If I am in a down mood I can count on them to cheer me up and become more positive. Also, because my friends are for the most part happy people, it makes me happier. Being happy and walking around with a smile on your face leads to feeling more confident and surprisingly, it can make you feel less ill. If I am sick but am around my friends, I don't notice my cold or strep throat symptoms as much. Lastly, hanging out with my friends on the weekend helps me to release school or family stress that I would otherwise hold inside.
Friends also convince you to make healthy life choices. I joined the cross country and track teams at my school not only because I wanted to, but also because all my friends were doing it. They also encourage me to try my best and do well at it, increasing my fitness and physical health. Many of my friends also make healthy eating choices, which also influences the way that I eat.
The tricky part of this is that they can also create the opposite effects. If you have friends that are sad or pessimistic, it makes it really hard for you to be a happy person. You may also feel like you can't share your problems with these people because they are too concerned with their own problems. Holding these things in will make you feel even more sad and stressed out which is not a good thing for your mental health. Lastly, if your friends are making bad decisions concerning drugs or alcohol, that could influence you to make bad choices that could be potentially harmful to your health.
The most important thing to keep in mind is to choose the right friends. If you can find people who make you happy then you are doing things right, and keeping healthy, however if the people you hang around seem to be down all the time, you may want to reevaluate and decide if it is time to get new friends.