Ciaran
Senior Moderator
友情は魔法だ
@Background Pony #5DD5
Friendship, even fictional or virtual ones with cartoon characters or characters in a novel who you feel a genuine connection with, can significantly improve your health.
Friendship, even fictional or virtual ones with cartoon characters or characters in a novel who you feel a genuine connection with, can significantly improve your health.
Loneliness is physically painful - social pain is as real and health threatening as a physical cut, because we are evolved to ‘fit in’ so we do not get evicted from social groups which our ancestors needed to survive and reproduce. Even though we no longer depend on those social structures, our bodies still respond as if we did.
Having friends, even fictional or online friends, can significantly improve your outcomes and your satisfaction and happiness.
2LDR: Friendship is magic. We have a biological need for it. In whatever format we can get it.
Even though it may seem silly or seem impossible, if the show works for you, it can be as beneficial, and have fewer side effects, as many commercially available anti-depressants.
It may not be a permanent fix though, so do check with a professional about making sure you’re ok if the show becomes ineffective for you at some point.
Because humans can become inured to anything, even happiness. And the benefits may wane over time.
I find one dose of pony twice a week still works for me though, even though I’ve been on the ride since 2010. The trick, I think, is to not lean on it too heavily, but to use it as a quick upper. Just like touching base with a friend once a week or so.