Relationships: Why We Have Friends

No man is an island. People have the need to share their experiences. Even cavemen wrote of their experiences on the walls of their caves so that others could read them. Storytelling is an ancient art because of this need to share experience. Friendships are the quintessential relationship to satisfy this human need to hear and be heard.

Reasons friendships are important.

1. Stress alleviation. When we tell our stories of our experiences we relieve ourselves of the secrecy and the burden we have when we carry around memories that are painful or emotional. Each time we tell our stories, we express emotion, letting off the tension surrounding the experience we’re telling about.

2. Advice. When we tell stories of our experiences we’re asking for advice, and we get it. Sometimes this advice is life changing. If we don’t share our experiences with our friends, we don’t get advice.

3. Connection. Sometimes we tell each other things for no reason other than to connect with another human being. This need for connection is something we see in animals and humans.

When we have positive experiences with all of the above, we form friendships and we go back to our friends to repeat these positive experiences. The friendships make life more enjoyable, less stressful, more productive and more humanistic.