Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Gabfests...


Every Tuesday night for almost 7 years I have been meeting my pal Peg for coffee. After reading the article below, sent to me by Louise...I now know that our gabfests are keeping us, not only connected but fit and healthy! So, come on gals get with a friend and enjoy the blessing...it does a body good.

They Teach This at Stanford

"I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality “girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf?
Yes. But their feelings? Rarely.

Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.
There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged—not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!

So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health."

And for a double portion...spend a girls only weekend away with those you love dearly! I came home so happy and renewed...can't wait to do it again!
Pat and I footloose and fancy free.
Blessings...

10 comments:

Felisol said...

Yesss, I agree.
Even though Gunnar and I share most things in life, I need contact with my girl friends too.
That's why I going for a hike tomorrow, bring coffee on a thermos and two sandwiches as well.
We are sitting outdoors all year in sun, snow and rain, sharing from the bottom of our hearts, and come home totally renewed, fully charged with serotonin.

Sandy said...

I couldn't agree more! I have
some of the best girl friends
in the world and I always
feel wonderful after spending
time with them. However, I
would still rather be with my
husband and sons than anyone
in the world. These are three
super special guys!
Love this little picture of
you and Pat!
Love & Hugs,
Sandy

Pat said...

Aw Sissy, that was a great weekend, wasn't it?
You are a great friend to have, you listen, pray, laugh, get silly, get serious.
Hal always tells me I need to get out more...I think he's on to something!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

That is very interesting. I actually went out twice last week to see friends I haven't seen in awhile. It was wonderful and I also lost weight last week. I guess I better start going out more often to meet friends.

Amrita said...

Hi Trish, I enjoy gabfests a lot. Good to get together with buddies an d people understand you and are suportive.

My disabilities drain an d strain me, so I am so active bu t I love chatting communicating online too.

Amrita said...

Oh Felisol, I enjoy reading about your hiking club. I had a walking club years ago , when I was able to walk fast. Life has its seasons.

Samantha said...

Love some gabfests ! Such a sweet post, thanks for sharing :)

Thanks for always stopping by my blog and I will give my sweet Mady a kiss for you !!

Blessings and so much love to you dear friend !

Deb said...

I so envied your trip to Grand Rapids!! ....and have decided, upon reading this post, that I am going to reconnect with my friend, Dawna...we need each other!! Thanks for this post!

Karen said...

Trish, what a wonderful way to stay fit! I truly am longing for this one on one connection with a friend here. We have friends, but not close ones! Working on it though. It has been the hardest journey making friends after moving here 5 years ago. Someone once told me "it takes alot of shared experiences" to make a close-friend! This is so true, trying to make experiences. Have a great weekend.

Nakamuras on Saipan said...

Oh my gosh! What an interesting post! I am going to use this for a conversation topic in my English Class!I loved all the research data and info on serotonin! How cool!Thanks!