“The last lecture of the evening course at Stanford dealt with the relationship between body and mind, the relationship between stress and illness.
> The speaker (head of the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford) stated, among other things, that one of the best things a man can do for his health is to have a wife, while for a woman, the best thing to do for good health is to maintain relationships with her girlfriends.
> The whole audience burst out laughing, but he was serious.
> Women have different relationships with each other that create support systems that help them deal with the different stresses and difficulties in life.
> From a physical point of view, these good times “between girls” help us produce more serotonin – a neurotransmitter that helps fight depression and creates a sense of well-being. Women share their feelings while friendships between men often revolve around their activities.
> Very rarely do they spend a lot of time together to talk about how they are feeling or how their personal lives are going.
> Talk about work? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But about how they feel? Rarely.
> Women have been doing this forever. We share – from the bottom of our souls – with our sisters/mothers, and apparently this is good for the health.
> The speaker also explains that spending time with a girlfriend is just as important for our general condition as jogging or going to the gym.
> There is a tendency to think that when we exercise we take care of our health, our body, whereas when we spend time with our friends we waste time and should do more productive things – this is not true.
> This teacher says that failing to create and maintain quality personal relationships is as dangerous to our health as smoking!
> So every time you spend time with your friends, think you’re doing well, congratulate yourself for doing something positive for your health.
