It Takes a Village for a Reason

You’re not tired? Yeah YOU! When you have a problem, who do you call? You. When work is getting difficult, who do you lean on? You. If an unexpected bill or expense arises, who takes care of it? You. So again—you’re not tired? I get it—you’re used to living a life where you look out for yourself and I’m sure your reasoning sounds like this: if you want to avoid disappointment, you do it yourself; if you don’t want to be let down, you do it yourself; and if you want things done a certain way, you do it yourself. But wait, what happens when your health takes a hit because of how much you’re doing? What happens when you don’t have the strength to manage all the responsibilities you’re struggling to juggle? What happens when you’re feeling mentally drained? Well, you’ll only have one person to blame—YOU.

Where Friendship Really Counts

At one point or another, we will have a friend who is going through a difficult situation in life. It could be the loss of a loved one, missing out on a job opportunity or promotion, experiencing a breakup or divorce, relationship challenges or something else. It can be challenging because you aren’t sure the best approach to help them through these situations or how you can be supportive without being overbearing. I don’t think there is one solution (besides God) to how you can help a friend when they experience a difficulty in life but I do think the effort you put in and the actions you take can have a positive effect. It may not solve their problems, but it can do them some good as they work to overcome the situation they find themselves in.

There’s Friends, And There’s Others

What would a friendship be without a little bit of conflict? You two may have similar interests, characteristics, and personalities, but you’re still two completely different people. So it goes without saying that you two may not always see eye to eye, and that’s normal. For that reason, it’s important to understand how to resolve conflict in a healthy way and to know when someone crosses the line. You can always get past conflict - but how do you move forward and how do you know when someone has gone too far?

Real Friends, How Many of Us?

When it comes to the topic of friendship, everyone seems to have different definitions. But I think Dictionary.com defines a friend pretty well as, “a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.” I believe this definition really helps delineate between a true friend and these numerous “friend” variations society has created. In my opinion, family is family and is in a category of its own. But if you’re sexually involved with someone who isn’t your partner, can you truly say this person is a friend? What happens if you remove the sexual aspect - will you still be real friends? Let’s look at what a friendship looks like and go from there.

Don’t Bear Your Burdens Alone

Depression is a severe feeling of unhappiness and/or despondency that many people suffer from, and yet somehow it does not always receive the attention it desperately needs. The rate of the number of people suffering from depression has steadily risen over the years but it has recently seen a sharp increase. BlueCross BlueShield conducted a study earlier this year that revealed, of the 41+ million people it insures, overall, there has been a 33% increase in the number of those diagnosed with depression, with a 63% increase in young adults ages 12-17, and a 47% increase in adults ages 18-34. I don’t know about you all, but these numbers are not only staggering, but unsettling as well.