Hey there! 👋🏻
Let’s hear it for our other chosen family—the friends who’ve stood by us through every messy chapter, questionable haircut, heartbreak, and happy accident. If you grew up in the Philippines, chances are you’ve got a barkada that feels more like family. Whether it’s your childhood crew, your school squad, or your ride-or-die workmates, every reunion feels like no time has passed. You pick up right where you left off, laughing, teasing, sharing stories like it’s second nature. Solid. 💞
Why Friendships Are Medicinal
According to a 2023 APA article by Zara Abrams, friendships, and I’m talking about the real, stable, platonic ones (not the ambiguous childhood friend you see in those Chinese drama shorts, I know you know what I mean 😝), are among the strongest predictors of long life and mental well-being. 👯
People with healthy friendships are more satisfied, less prone to depression, and even less likely to die from chronic diseases. In fact, lack of social connection increases premature death risk as much as smoking twenty cigarettes a day. Yes… twenty. 🫣
Friendships also help regulate our stress response, lowering blood pressure and heart rate during tough moments. Even our brains start to mirror our friends’ activity—our neural patterns literally sync up. (And TMI for my ladies, our periods sometimes sync up too. 😆) That look of understanding that says everything without words? Yeah, that’s years of closeness built.
How Does Friendship Affect Our Health?
We Filipinos are practically born with a built-in support system. Whether it’s a barkada that’s been through every life season or cousins who double as your default support group, we’re wired to belong. That connection doesn’t just make life fun, it protects our hearts, minds, and even immune systems. 🛡️
The American Psychological Association has been pushing for close relationships to be recognized as a public health priority because they literally extend life. But here in the Philippines, that’s already part of who we are. Sunday lunches, late-night kwentuhan, spontaneous visits, all these are small acts of wellness our ancestors practiced long before “mental health” became a buzzword. 🤗
Can Shared Rituals Strengthen Friendships?
When our friends are hurting, physically or emotionally, we don’t just send a message—we show up. We bring food, we listen, we drink, and somehow, we laugh the heaviness away. These days, there’s a new addition to the barkada table: a little purple bottle that gets passed around mid-chika. Someone rubs it on their tummy after overeating, another massages their temple after laughing too hard. 💜 Oleia Topical Oils 💜 has quietly become part of the ritual. Maybe it’s age (I’mma call it wisdom. 🤣), but we’ve never felt more relaxed…or more ready to chismis for hours on end.
Bring a bottle to your next get-together too. Because wellness, like friendship, works best when shared. 💕
Show me your bottle and I’ll show you mine. ’Til next time! 🙋🏻
xo, L
References:
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/06/cover-story-science-friendship
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/09/close-relationships
