Good buddies can ease stress, enhance your health.
Here, five simple ways to get more out of relationships with friends:
Make Your Friendships a Priority
Don't Just Sit There, Do Something
Connect With Virtual Friends
Twitter can also be an informal way to bring the chatter of many voices into your living room and keep up with everybody from the politician you admire to the person you met last week at a party. You can ask for advice, solicit support — even attend a twitter party while you watch a shared favorite TV show.
Accept That Friendships Change Over Time
Risk the Fight
Dr. Levine's advice for approaching a difficult discussion with a friend: Choose a relaxed time, and talk in person rather than on the phone or via e-mail. Be sensitive, don't blame or attack, but don't mask your feelings either. And know that any discussion may just be the first in an ongoing conversation, one that will ultimately lead you to a deeper, stronger friendship that can offer even more in terms of honesty and intimacy.