Friends really are important. I recently read an article, Stayin’ alive: That’s what friends are for that discussed a BYU study proving that having healthy social relationships "improve our odds of survival by 50 percent." The article reported that the lack of friends and infrequent social interaction has the same negative impact to smoking 15 cigarettes a day or being an alcoholic. It said that not having friends is more harmful than not exercising and twice as harmful as obesity.
I feel like I've experienced the harmful effects of this. When I lose a friendship or have a relationship end, my physical (and emotional) health drops dramatically. I become more susceptible to illness and disease than I am when I'm in a healthy relationship -- be it romantic or platonic.
Here's an animation I made last year. It's not that I didn't have any friends, I was just overwhelmed with school, work, and didn't have/make time for people. It's short and kind of silly. I originally did it in the bottom corner of my notebook.
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