“Wouldn’t it be nice to have friends from distant places?” This statement alone represents that having friends is one of the great pleasures of our lives. Yet, sometimes friends are not always a source of joy to you. Making “bad friends” can even be a reason that you age faster, indicates a research published on a preprint platform.
01. The more bad friends, the faster the aging process
This research was a collaboration of several universities in the USA such as Indiana University and New York University 2234. Epigenetic tests were done on saliva samples of research participants, and couples with negative social relationships were selected for DNA methylation labeling studies.
The study shows that 60% of the surveyed adults claimed to have at least one exhausting person around them. Also, the number of bad friends is positively linked with biological aging in a person, and the higher the percentage of bad friends in the circle of friends, the greater the influence on biological age. On average, one more bad friend will make a person 2.5 months older than the actual age, which is equivalent to 0.5% faster aging.
What is more, friends who “give you comfort today, and criticize you tomorrow” do even more harm to you than simple bad friends. Similarly, a 2012 study by the University of Utah in the United States found that those hot and cold “pseudo-friend” relationships that are inseparable will cause telomeres (protective caps at the ends of chromosomes) to shorten faster, thus increasing the risk of heart disease and other related diseases. Risk of disease, even life expectancy.
Negative social relationships may expose the body to a chronic inflammation-type stress response, thus allowing even higher levels of the inflammation that is already present in the body, and immune system function may also be weakened as a result, the researchers explained. This is very similar to the difference between smokers and non-smokers.
02. Friendship also needs to be broken off, and internal friction-style making friends is rejected
Emotions can be as contagious as viruses, and they can be more contagious than one assumes. Scientists have found that we have a special group of cells in our nervous system——Mirror neurons. In the case of the emotions of others, these neurons evoke the feelings of the other person and thus we become unconsciously infected.
An experiment in Sweden involving the monitoring of college students’ facial expressions during interactions concluded that the students were involuntary facial expression and emotion synchronized, a very strong reaction even at the level of consciousness. It is true that the phenomenon is not limited to the facial expressions only, our body shape and tone also change along with the emotions of others.
Thus it is evident that when we socialize with bad friends, it is very easy for us to be surrounded by their negative emotions and gradually, our mentality will be negative and pessimistic. Such “internal consumption” friendship not only does not bring us spiritual comfort and growth, but also continues to consume our energy and enthusiasm, causing us to fall into a state of exhaustion and aging without realizing it. Thus, the art of knowing when to part ways with friends and distancing oneself from those who are only a source of negativity is a vital way of protecting one’s physical and mental well-being.
The positive psychology pioneer, Martin Seligman, once said that facing negative emotions, if one lacks the mental strength to digest, then quiet alienation and shielding would be the best options.
03. Having a true friend is a blessing for life
German writer Stephanie · Steele once noted: Almost everything in our lives is relationships. Good relationships make us happy, while bad ones make us miserable.
Yes, life cannot be separated from friends and friendship.》 People’s Daily, in an article, emphasized that having a true friend is a lifelong blessing.
The most precious friendship is one that comes from mutual affection, from common interest, and lasts for a long time. It is quite understandable that two people who have never met would not be good friends. Those who share similar personalities, views, and congeniality will also end up having deep friendship.
Traditionally, the most popular form of friendship was “symptomatic”True friendship is the one where each party knows the character of the other, respects the other’s wishes, does not impose or ask and loves and supports each other. Thus, everyone will be positive, more confident, and stronger than before. Even if we have not been in touch for a long time, still we can be far away from each other and yet keep a corner in our hearts reserved for each other, and a kind of concern that connects us.
Disclaimer: The following image/content has been generated by an Artificial Intelligence model and is not a photograph or a traditional human creation.
“Dr. Harnarayan Singh is a Neurosurgeon and Minimally Invasive spine surgeon. His areas of speciality are brain tumours(Glioblastomas, Gliomas, Astrocytomas etc), Spine tumours like Neurofibromas or Meningiomas, head injury, spine injury, Minimally invasive spine surgery for lumbar canal stenosis(MIS Lumbar decompression), Lumbar microdiscectomy, Cervical disc surgery, spondylolisthesis, and degenerative spinal disorders. He has special interest in keyhole or endoscopic brain and spine surgeries. He is available from Monday to Saturday, during working hours at Narayana Super Speciality hospital, Gurugram.”
