Female Friendships: And The Positive Effect They Have On Our Mental Health

The importance of female friendships

Often we focus on romantic relationships, but connections come in all shapes and forms. Social relationships are just as meaningful. Spending time with a girlfriend who you care about and has a positive influence on your life. So whether you've been friends since childhood or it's a bubbly new friend you clicked with at yoga a few months ago - spending time with a female friend can fill you with emotional support and positivity and provide a pillow of support when you're feeling 'meh.'

Even  science backs the importance of female friendships, stating that being connected to friends increases the body's serotonin and oxytocin (the bonding hormones) - particularly during  stressful times.  Bupa UK Clinical Director for Mental Health Pablo Vandenabelle mentions that "healthy, positive relationships with friends" help our emotional wellbeing.

Here are some top benefits of female friendships:

Improve our mood

Female friends are mood lifters. Tell us you didn't feel better after an evening spent cackling over college memories while devouring a Ben and Jerry's tub? That's because spending time with our female friends is an endorphin-filled event. And the science is there to prove it! A bond between female friends is like no other. And having a healthy and solid female friendship can bring a multitude of positivity and emotional support to our lives.

Fill us with self-love

The unconditional support we receive from our female friendships' fills our love bucket, even on rainy days. Got a bad performance review at work? Going through a difficult breakup? Give your girl-pal a ring and vent away. She'll always be there to pump you up, hear you out, and go on and on about how amazing you are. Hearing these positive affirmations by someone you choose to spend time with is humbling and will strengthen your bond with yourself and your girlfriend.

Keep loneliness at bay

Gone are the days when two friendly strangers could start a conversation at a coffee shop or while ordering a drink at the bar. With social media rampant everywhere we look, sometimes it's hard to form social connections. Now we're all glued to our screens, creating an epidemic of loneliness. Getting together with your female friend or girl gang will inject that social-high back into your life and make you feel more connected to another human.

Whichever way you look at it, there's nothing that can replace the bond of a female friendship. This International Friendship Day, ring up your girl gang and tell them how much your friendship means to you.

As always, love the Easy Clothes team xx