Letter from the Director
In February, our thoughts often turn to St. Valentine and the trinkets of romance: love letters, candy, jewelry, and flowers. However, we don’t often stop to consider the importance of friendship, or platonic love, in our lives.
As we get older, making friends can be challenging. We might retire, our children may move across the country, and our spouse may pass away. We might lose our hearing or vision, and we’re unable to get around as easily as we once could. A 2015 study famously concluded that a lack of social connections was as damaging to a person’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In fact, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy considers loneliness – with its link to higher risks of cognitive decline, depression, heart disease and stroke – to be a greater public health threat than obesity or smoking.
But just as loneliness can hurt our health, friendships can improve it in far-reaching and surprising ways. Studies have found that socializing can strengthen the immune system, help us recover more quickly from illness, lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, and sharpen memory.
That’s just one reason why the relationships that happen behind the doors of Ruth Byck are so special. It’s in the face of the male client whose face lights up when his friend tells him a joke. It’s the two women who share rocking chair time on the back porch. And it’s in all of our staff who experience the beauty of intergenerational friendships.
Cicero said it best: “Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys and dividing our grief.” This month, be sure to celebrate your friendships. After all, we wouldn’t be nearly as happy and healthy without them.
