Sisterhood. A word with many meanings and memories. When I think of love, that is where it resides, in the cradled arms of the word sisterhood. Many consider it common sense that friendship enriches your life, but the benefits of female friendship go far beyond what is considered obvious.
Research suggests that strong and lasting bonds with women are crucial for both mental and physical well-being. A study from UCLA proposes that women who have support from female friends during stressful times may live longer than those who don't. Another study found that women diagnosed with breast cancer who had more social connections had a higher survival rate than those without.
Much of this comes from the benefits of emotional support that women can offer. Women often discuss emotional experiences and can process them with the help of their friends. This reduces the impact of a chronic stressor and negates its influence.
Interactions between women lead to increases in brain chemicals such as oxytocin that inspire boosts in mood, positive behavior and overall health. This emotional surge can lead to a “tend and befriend" instinct, a need to protect and connect with other women. For many, an easy stress reliever includes catching up with their favorite girls.
Many women you know can attest to these benefits from firsthand experiences, including myself. My female friendships are the backbone of every decision, every problem solved, every breakup gotten over and every dead beaten horse at 2 a.m.
A lack of social support is shown to have lasting impacts, such as depression later in life, with men being more at risk for depression than women. It's quite interesting to consider the benefits of female friendships in relation to this, as women are quick to develop deep emotional connections that foster support.
Not only do these relationships provide mental health support, but they also nurture professional life. Women with strong personal networks are shown to have an edge in business. Research indicates that women who have a support system that they can lean on and look to for guidance are more likely to hold leadership positions. Specifically in male-dominated fields, having other women to lean on is an important resource.
I find my female relationships to be some of my most treasured. My friendships with the women I love are not born from obligation or blood ties. I wake up every morning and choose them, and I am lucky enough to have them choose me back.
Whether this devotion is showing up for events, celebrating accomplishments, responding to the late-night text or sitting silently through your hardest moments, female friendship is built on acts of devotion that don't require recognition to be meaningful.
Every time I wait impatiently for that guy to text back, I take a moment to remember the most important lesson: you are covered in love every day, drowning in it. When my stomach hurts from laughing too hard, and I'm rattling off the same overused inside joke with my girlfriends that we have repeated a million times, I'll realize that this is what we are made for.
Humans are made to love. My girlfriends have listened to every desire, devotion and demand. They sat patiently as I cried over someone who never cared to show a fraction of what they had given me. They look at me with all of the love that I prayed for at night, pleading with the stars to send me someone even half as amazing as every woman I am lucky enough to call a friend.
Female friendship is the soft chorus that hums when life gets loud. You must remember the melody, as it will carry you through the darkest of times.
Lily is a sophomore studying integrated language arts at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Lily about their column? Email them at lm054424@ohio.edu.
