Healthy friendships bring a smile to your face and lift your spirits just thinking about them. Here we take a look at six signs of healthy friendship. If your friendships do not have these aspects them consider what is holding you back from enjoying all that being friends can be.
Being Real and Honest
Good friends keep it real. Honesty doesn’t have to be brutal. It is only brutal if you don’t want to hear what is being said. When you can rely on your friend being honest with you then they are truthful about any situation. Be aware that they are expressing their view from their own perspective of the world. This personal perspective will differ from your own.
Arguing in a Healthy Way
Friends don’t always agree and being able to argue in a healthy is good communication. Friends argue because it of them feels strongly about a subject and try to explain it in such a way that the other person is convinced. Respecting that your friend has a different view does not make either of you right or wrong, just different.
Encourage Other Friendships
Friendships with other people help keep a friendship fresh. Interaction with others brings new perspectives into your life. Healthy friendships are not jealous of new friends spending time together. Each friendship has its own strands of common understanding. It is possible to share different interests with different friends. For instance one friend might like playing sport and the other friend prefers the movies. Healthy friendships do not make you choose but are all embracing.
Trust
One of the most important components of healthy friendships is trust. Trust that intimate conversations will remain confidential and not be used as gossip. When we share intimate details of ourselves with another there is an implied trust. The keeping of this trust without having to be asked is a healthy sign of friendship.
Respect Boundaries
Respecting personal boundaries is so important. Sometimes we are not aware that we have crossed someone else’s personal boundary on an issue until it has happened. Healthy friendships acknowledge that a boundary has been crossed and the boundary explained so that the friend can understand what it is that has caused the distress.
Nurture Each Other
People in healthy friendships care about each other and nurture each other. Allowing each other to grow as individuals and share the happy times and the sad without hurting each other.
