Reconnecting With Old Friends Can Benefit Your Life and Mind
Reconnecting with old friends that you have a strong emotional connection can benefit your life in several ways:
- Lower levels of anxiety
- Lesson loneliness
- 50% chance of increased longevity
- Greater empathy
- Increased immunity
- Lower rates of depression
- Increased emotional regulation
- Increased self-esteem
Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
“When we forget old friends, it is a sign we have forgotten ourselves.”
~ William Hazlitt
1778-1830
1VibrantLife Editorial Team | October 31, 2021
How Reconnecting to old friends improves your life
Reconnecting with old friends and remeniscing about the old days, looking at photo albums, and telling stories from your childhood can positively affect your self-esteem and help alleviate anxiety and depression.
Walking down memory lane is beneficial to the body and soul.
Having friends is essential for mental health. People with more social connections can better cope with stress and are less likely to develop depression.
The benefits of social connectedness, also known as “social capital,” include lower levels of stress, higher self-esteem, and an increased sense of purpose in life.
Re-establishing those old connections can make you feel younger, bring back forgotten memories, and boost your self-confidence.
“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you
can afford to be stupid with them.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803-1882
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How reconnecting with old friends helps your mind
When we are lonely, our brains respond by releasing a flood of stress hormones, cortisol being a big one.
This is similar to our fight or flight instinct, and it sends our brains into self-protection mode. The more stress we feel, the higher our cortisol levels are.
Young adults who spend most of their time alone are lonelier than others in an older age group.
The research shows that a person’s baseline is highly variable; some people are very comfortable being alone, while others feel lonely all the time.
Studies have shown that someone with fewer friends is more likely to experience loneliness.
What’s more, social isolation is far worse for us than solitary confinement, and being alone is a normal part of the human experience.
What is abnormal is the feeling of being disconnected from society or family, of not belonging.
The 5 Characteristics of Loneliness
- Feeling like no one really “gets you.”
- Feeling isolated even when other people are around you.
- Feeling that you are not good enough, compared to others (social media often paints a rosy picture)
- Unable to maintain a deep connection with another person
- Becoming exhausted when trying to socialize
“A friend is a gift you give to yourself.”
Robert Luis Stevenson
1850-1894
The Benefits of Social Connections
Having a lack of social connection is detrimental to our health and well-being.
People who develop strong emotional connections live longer and have lower levels of anxiety and loneliness. Some of the benefits include:
- 50% chance of increased longevity
- Greater empathy
- Increased immunity
- Lower rates of depression
- Increased emotional regulation
- Increased self-esteem
“Ah, how good it feels! The hand of an old friend.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1807-1882
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How To Reconnect With Your Old Friends
Old friends are there for you, even in hard times. If you have a close connection with your friend, there is a good chance they will be open to reconnecting.
Talk about your struggles: If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope, don’t suffer in silence.
Your friends, included those old friends, can be a significant source of support.
Share your feelings and lean on them. If they feel comfortable, they may even offer advice on coping.
They may even help you connect to a therapist to help you work through your problems.
Social Media
Of course, social media is a terrific way to reconnect with old friends.
Try posting a photo or status update, and you’re likely to be reconnected with at least one old friend.
You can also lookup old friends from high school with classmates.com.
Join a Forum
If you have a particular hobby you regularly engage in, join a group or forum for discussions on topics of interest.
Forums can be sources of social interactions, engaging conversation, and meeting new people (making friends).
In-Person Meetups
Don’t neglect the power of face-to-face interaction. Socializing online is great, but don’t isolate yourself to only interacting online.
Get out and meet new people who are interested in the same things you are. You may run into old friends who are already in these groups or make new friends.
Convening with a close friend is often the best way to get some relief from stress.
Meetup.com has thousands of community meetups scheduled daily all over the world.
Whether you are searching for a hiking group in your area or your dream cookout party in another city, connecting with your friends in person can help re-establish your contact with old friends.
Zoom Calls
For your old friends who are far away, connecting by Zoom or Skype can be a way to socialize without having to pay for transportation.
Skype lets you add more people to the conversation for video calls.
Skyping also might be great for setting up a movie night, and everyone watches and joins on Skype to discuss the movie, what they thought about the characters, the plot, etc.
Texts and Calls
Texting and talking on the phone a couple of times per week is another excellent way to stay in touch with friends or re-establish a connection you had long ago with old friends.
“In poverty and other misfortunes in life, true friends are a true refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite noble deeds.”
Aristotle 384BC–322BC
Make Time for Getting Together with friends
If you haven’t seen your friend for some time, let your friend know you’d love to get together for a coffee.
Set up some time on your schedule for these types of meetings with your friends.
And be prepared and accepting if a friend needs to make a day or time change for the get-together.
Being patient and understanding will help you not feel rejected.
Make sure that the day and time are clearly defined and that you let them know how excited and important for you that seeing them again is and then stand by it.
Try to be prepared and write down a few ideas on thongs you’d like to talk with them about a few of the old experiences that were particularly important or fun that you had together.
“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only
true friends leave and imprint on your heart.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
1884 – 1962
In Conclusion
Creating a support system for yourself is essential. Friends and family can help you gain insights on relationships that you might not have been able to find otherwise.
By starting the year with a clear sense of direction, your friendships will benefit.
Remember that every relationship is unique and, therefore, requires a different kind of support.
Find people who inspire you, understand you, and want to help you achieve the success you desire.
And remember to reconnect with old friends that were so important to your life in the past. Likely, those old friends may just become your new best friends!
My Name is Marty Ward and I’m the creator and publisher of the 1-Vibrant-Life blog.
On March 8th, 1984, I sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident while I was driving to my day job.
At the time of the accident, I was having a fairly successful life as a musician in Chicago, which had included a recent appearance on Star Search 84′ with Ed McMahon and preparing to be included in the group’s major independent recording contract.
However, after my accident, I was unable to perform or play my instrument. I was out of work and I had lost all confidence in myself and my abilities, felt lost and with no direction.
My injury and my recovery led me down a path of self-improvement, and self-discovery which gave me my life back filled with many amazing experiences and a newfound sense of hope. Learn more about my story on the 1-vibrant-life about page.
CBTCP Certification (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certified Practitioner) | 10-16-2021 Certification From The Academy of Modern Applied Psychology, in The Transformative Science of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT
