Community

For years, health writers have been reporting results of studies that show how people with strong friendships live longer, healthier lives. So this new study out of Brigham Young University is not surprising. However, the comparisons between social interaction and other well-known health stats are a bit intriguing:

Having no friends is:

• Equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day
• Equivalent to being an alcoholic
• More harmful than not exercising
• Twice as harmful as obesity

Speaking from personal experience, I know that the more time I spend with my friends…whether it’s laughing or gossiping or sharing intimate details of my life…the happier I am.

There’s one problem I see with this easy access health fix. How often do we really allow ourselves time to connect? (And I don’t know if casual interaction on Facebook necessarily counts as “friendship.”) It’s hard enough for most of us (especially those of us with young kids) to fit in a regular exercise routine. We’re expected to wake up before the sun to fit in a morning jog, work an 8-hour + work day, come home and spend quality time with our children, have sex with our spouse, and then be awake enough to chat with our friends? How?

I see only two choices: Run away or integrate your community into your life and your life into your community.

Choose a workplace or a school or a neighborhood with like-minded folks.

Choose a job that’s your passion or your pleasure.

Choose a partner who is also your friend.

Find a book club.

Those have all worked for me.

Otherwise, you might as well pick up a pack a day smoking habit, ’cause your chances of survival without friends is slim.