Friends Hobbies

Introduction

Friends and friendships can help us live a happier, healthier life.Friendships can:

increase our sense of belonging and purpose,
boost our happiness and reduce our stress,
improve our self-confidence and self-worth,
help us cope with traumas, such as divorce, serious illness, job loss, or the death of a loved one,
encourage us to change or avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as excessive drinking or lack of exercise,
play a significant role in promoting our overall health,
reduce the risk of many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure, and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI),
increase the likelihood of living longer.

While we are aware of the benefits of friendships, life can make it hard to keep in touch with friends.

Friendships may take a back seat to other priorities, such as work or caring for children or aging parents. You and your friends may have grown apart due to changes in your lives or interests.
Friendships: Enrich your life and improve your health – Mayo Clinic

This might explain the findings of the “American Perspectives Survey”:

Americans report having fewer close friendships than they once did, talking to their friends less often, and relying less on their friends for personal support.

And this seems to be a persistent trend:

The number of close friendships Americans have appears to have declined considerably over the past several decades.
The State of American Friendship: Change, Challenges, and Loss – The Survey Center on American Life

Even friendships we do manage to maintain many times take a stagnant and dull shape.Hobbies can help us liven up our friendships, and keep them fresh and strong.Making new friends as an adult is also difficult, but sometimes required. For example, when moving to a new place, or after friends have moved to a new place.Hobbies can also help us find new friends. They provide a rare opportunity in day-to-day life to meet new people who share our interests, which is a great foundation for friendships.

Unfortunately, the people I had dedicated time to thus far were achievement-oriented and were pouring their time into work and not our friendships. This forced me to seek out other ways to form connections with people. I ended up finding a local hiking group with the hopes of meeting people with similar interests. During one of these hikes, I met Jim, one of my best friends to this day.
The Importance of Friendship | Psychology Today