Best Friends: The link to happier lives

AUSTIN, Texas - March 15, 2014 - PRLog -- Best friends may be hard to find, but life just wouldn't be the same without them. Best friends keep us happier and healthy by:

Improving our self-worth: Best friends make us feel like we belong and have a purpose for being.

Boosting our morale booster: Best friends help us deal with traumas, like divorce, serious illness, job loss or the death of a loved one.

Increasing our happiness: Best friends increase our happiness level, making our life better.

Improve our health: Best friends help reduce our stress which keeps us healthier.

Honesty: Best friends tell it like it is!

In Brookes' book, Linked Lives (ISBN: 0-9661342-1-4 // Publisher: Wizard of Words; paperback and ebook available online at many sites, including Amazon), she shares a true story about best friends and how their friendship helps them survive many challenges. That story illustrates the findings in several studies including Tom LeDuc's article, Friendship and Health reporting, "Some research considers friendship to be a 'social vaccine' that enhances both our physical and mental health." Another report released April 16, 2011 by the Mayo Clinic states, "friendships can have a major impact on our health and well-being." Sheldon Cohen, PhD Carnegie Mellon University's psychology professor has been quoted, "Friends help us face adverse events and provide material aid, emotional support, and information that helps us deal with the stressors."

However, it's not always easy to make or maintain friendships. According to a study published in the American Sociological Review, "Social Isolation in America," Americans have fewer friends today than they did three decades ago. The average number of close friends per person has dropped from 4 to 2 and as many as 25% of Americans have no close personal confidants outside their family. Friendships may suffer from other priorities such as work or caring for children or aging parents, change in interests or relocation, or time spent in front of a TV, computer or cell phone. But, the effort of maintaining good friendships are well worth the time.

"Despite time zones and miles, I was fortunate enough to maintain a close relationship with my best friend and Linked Lives is our story. I hope as others read this book," Brookes explains, "they think about and realize how valuable their best friend is and rather than just shooting them a text or an email, they make the time to call or visit them."