We need social contact. Some need less, others more. Unless you are a hermit, love and friendship are things that enrich your life and make you happy. Positive attention and closeness to your family, your partner, but also to friends and neighbors make us content. It all makes sense because we want to share joy and sorrow.
It is in the essence of human nature to love and seek social contact. Where does the motivation for this lie? One explanation can be found in evolutionary psychology. According to this, humans are social beings who live in a group, develop within it, and flourish in it. Groups provide social identity. When a community functions well, we feel secure and safe within it. The smallest social unit is a partnership or close family members. This feeling grants us health and increases our well-being. A fundamental building block for achieving happiness and contentment in our lives.Good friends & partners strengthen you
In good partnerships and friendships, love is reciprocated. Friendships thrive on listening and trust, opening up and talking about joys and problems, giving or receiving advice, and sharing praise and criticism. This enriches life and strengthens us. It prevents us from going under so quickly when faced with setbacks in life and helps us get back up again. And it strengthens the balance between body and mind. In other words: loneliness is one of the main reasons for mental and physical illnesses. People who lack social support in life are more susceptible to addictions and depression.
Love and friendship: Important for a lifetime
Science also confirms: The positive effects of love and friendship are timeless, meaning they are important throughout our entire lives. A long-term study, the so-called Harvard Study (The Grant Study), which ran for more than 75 years, showed that good relationships keep people happy and healthy. It is not the quantity of relationships that matters, but their quality. Positive effects include emotional stability and good physical and mental health.
Friendships forge happiness
Another study from the University of Michigan found that as we age, friendships have a more positive impact on quality of life and make life happier than family does. To this end, surveys on the topics of friendship, happiness, and health from 270,000 people in 100 countries were evaluated. Accordingly, friendships are a fundamental source of happiness, even more so than family.
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