Compared to all of your other responsibilities and relationships, friendship can seem a bit unnecessary. But feeling lonely isn’t just affecting your social life, it’s affecting your health.

Getting started

4 min

Feeling lonely is bad for your health

2 min

The lonely century (Chapter 2)

3 min

Recap of Chapter 1

Recap

Some friendships just feel right. Here, we'll learn about the science behind why we resonate with one another.

Why a good friendship feels so right

1 min

A General Theory of Love (Chapter 4, 5, and 8)

7 min

Recap of Chapter 2

Recap

There are no set rules and expectations for friends. This means we are all free to decide what we are looking for in a friendship, and sometimes that’s not easy.

Different friends for different things

2 min

Friendship Is Different For Everyone

The Baggage Reclaim Sessions

12 min

4.8

Some essential components of friendship

2 min

Rolling Friend Date

2 min

Rolling Friend Date

Exercise

Recap of Chapter 3

Recap

Friends are the people with whom we share the difficult things in life, from whom we seek out honest advice. And sometimes we have to come back from a falling out. The key to doing all of that successfully? Communication.

Speak and listen to your friends

1 min

Nonviolent Communication

Marshall B. Rosenberg

23.6 min

4.5

Recap of Chapter 4

Recap

It isn't just about the one-on-one coffees and drinks you have with friends. It's also about bringing these separate relationships together. By connecting your relationships, you create a community.

Connecting friends creates community

1 min

The Art of Gathering

Priya Parker

23.8 min

4.3

Recap of Chapter 5

Recap

Each of us have different expectations of our loving relationships that were likely developed in our formative years. A part of having a loving friendship is knowing what makes you and your friends feel loved.

What is a friend

2 min

The 5 Love Languages

Gary Chapman

19.7 min

4.4

Recap of Chapter 6

Recap

There have been a lot of questions in this guide and hopefully they’ve sparked some ideas for you. Our team at Blinkist took some of these questions to the street to see what other people thought.

How other people think about friendship

2 min

The 5 love languages of friendship

10 min

I hope by now you have a better understanding of the strategies you can use to find, grow and rekindle deep meaningful friendships. Also, since connecting with our friends is something we sometimes forget to do; I’ve got one more tool to help you make it a habit.

Outro

2 min

Habit bundling

2 min

Habit Bundling

Exercise

Recap of Entire Guide

Recap

Hong Kong research on loneliness

Resource