The power of female friendships

“Some women pray for their daughters to marry good husbands. I pray that my girls will find loyal girlfriends”. -Rebbeca Wells

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus; meaning females are inherently different from our male counterparts. Women think differently, act differently, solve problems differently and are more emotionally guided than logically guided. Although men and women do complement each other, as women, we thrive on strong relationships with our girlfriends.

These female bonds give women an outlet to share their thoughts, feelings, problems and victories. We treasure our hour-long phone calls with our girlfriends, special sister road trips, hilarious text messages (that should always be kept secret), celebratory girls’ nights out and happy hours after work on a Friday. Most of our emotional and mental strength comes from deep bonds with the strong females in our lives.

HEALTH BENEFITS
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, women with early-stage breast cancer were four times more likely to die from cancer if they didn’t have very many friends. Those with a larger group of friends with early-stage breast cancer had a much better survival rate! This beneficial effect of friendship was felt whether the friends lived near or far. An article published on the New York Times website states that women felt they could count on their friends to pull through for them no matter what they are struggling within their lives.

THE BACKBONE OF OUR SUPPORT SYSTEM
Women are each other’s emotional support systems. Giving advice, being a shoulder to cry on, lending a listening ear and boosting each other’s self-esteem is something strong and healthy female friendships consist of. Girlfriends have a distinctive way of reading emotions and intuitively recognising what needs to be done and then acting on it.

We understand each other, we validate each other, we give marriage and breakup advice to each other, we share intimate family details with each other, we share beauty secrets with each other, we tell each other when we have food in our teeth or when our skirt is on backward and most importantly, we share lasting memories with each other. If you are a female, no matter your age, treasure your girlfriends for as long as possible.

STRENGTH
Interacting with other strong women simultaneously builds our strength too. We are able to keep each other in check, be brutally honest with each other, be angry together, laugh together and cry together. The best part is that you don’t feel crazy, too sensitive or too emotional for any of it. You’ll just feel like you. When you and your girlfriends are able to build each other up despite all the negativity circulating in the world today, you feel confident and invincible!

By Skye Lavis