Transcript - Why Friendships Matter — for Life With Dr. Kimberly Horn

Written by : Transcript – Why Friendships Matter — for Life With Dr. Kimberly Horn • February 11, 2025

Follow along with the transcript below for episode: Why Friendships Matter — for Life With Dr. Kimberly Horn

[INTRODUCTION]

[00:00:01] PF: Thank you for joining us for episode 506 of Live Happy Now. This is the time of year when we celebrate love but there’s one kind of love that sometimes gets overlooked, even though our lives depend on it. I’m your host, Paula Felps, and this week, I’m talking with Dr. Kimberly Horn, a professor and research psychologist whose new book, Friends Matter for Life, looks at how important and powerful friendships are throughout our lifespan.

Join me as she introduces her framework of dynamic friendship and explains how its eight tenets of friendship can help support and strengthen your current and future relationships. Let’s have a listen.

[INTERVIEW]

[0:00:41.4] PF: Dr. Kimberly, thank you for joining me on Live Happy Now.

[0:00:44.8] KH: Thank you so much, Paula, for having me. I’m thrilled to be here.

[0:00:49.5] PF: This is a really important topic for us because it’s February, it’s the month of love, people are always talking about the romantic love but there’s another kind of love that’s super important, and that is the friendship, and that is something we’re going to, oftentimes, have longer than our romantic relationships, and so I’m really glad that you’re able to sit down and talk about this, and I was curious about what made you go into this area of study?

Because your book, you have done your research, woman, there is some great stuff in there. What drew you to this?

[0:01:21.6] KH: Well, I’ve been an academic scientist for almost 30 years in the area of public health and health behavior, and one of the things that I saw consistently in my studies over the years was how important that social connection is and our social networks are to our health behavior and health outcomes, and then during the pandemic, especially in the early part of the pandemic, I saw some of my findings playing out right in front of me, and how our lack of connection has such profound impact on our health and wellbeing.

So, instead of doing another study or writing, an academic paper, I decided I wanted to write something that had broader reach, and as that turned out, it was a book, and thinking about the loneliness crisis, I think that loneliness is so detrimental and to the opposite of that, connection is an antidote to loneliness, and I think friendship in that form of connection is something that’s available to almost everyone.

[0:02:33.7] PF: It is, and we all know it’s valuable but as a society, we’re feeling lonelier and more disconnected than ever. Can you talk about why? Before I want to get into research, we’re going to get into all that but why are we feeling so disconnected, is it a hangover from the pandemic? Were we feeling it before then or what’s going – what did you find?

[0:02:54.9] KH: We were – the loneliness crisis didn’t start with the pandemic, it started well before that, and it’s not just something that this country is experiencing. It is a worldwide crisis. Now, people, since COVID, it’s really interesting because about, like 43% of people still feel the same level of loneliness they did during the pandemic.

[0:03:14.7] PF: Really?

[0:03:14.7] KH: So, maybe not – it is escalating instead of getting better, and I think there are a few things. One, we were disrupted in our routines during the pandemic, and it also really strained relationships. I also think the pandemic really forced us away from social interactions and we lost our social skills but beyond that, I think technology has certainly created some challenges.

Whereas, online or virtual interactions have begun to replace personal, and in real life, face-to-face interactions, which I’m not saying that virtual connections are important because I think, for some people, they may be the only type of connection and I think they have a place but it often lacks the depth, an emotional depth that in-person interactions have. I also think we’ve had changing norms or social norms where we’ve become a bit more individualistic.

We’re a little less reliant on other people, which means we are a little less community-focused, and those replaces where we have made connections and ties in the past, and I think we were more transient. Our society moves a bit more and relocates and that often creates a starting-over effect, and the loss of previous friendships, and I think we can’t make light of our changing workplace situation.

Because with the increased teleworking and remote working, people have fewer, like built-in organic interactions through their day. I mean, I work from home, you know, most of the time, and I know I have to be very aware of making time to get out of the house and interact with people.

[0:05:04.0] PF: Absolutely. Yeah, because that work from home can be just such a blessing but then you do start getting isolated and it doesn’t feel like you’re connecting at all, and if you’re – like if you live alone and work from home, then it can become just an extreme challenge and it seems like the harder – the less you get out, the harder it is to then get out. What is that dynamic?

[0:05:25.9] KH: Well, again, I think we start to feel a little stuck and we feel less confident and less comfortable with our skills.

[0:05:32.4] PF: Let’s talk about some of the benefits of friendship and why it’s so important for us not to overlook it.

[0:05:37.9] KH: Sure. Well, I mean, I think we have to think about how friendships really affect our mental and physical health and connections. Those real connections really have an impact on the health choices that we make and the outcomes that happen. For example, in some of my studies, I found that people were more likely to quit smoking if they were better connected to people than they have –

[0:06:02.0] PF: Oh really?

[0:06:02.9] KH: There to be – to be accountability for them, to celebrate some of their milestones, so – and these are some of the studies that led me to really think about how our social connections impact our health choices. Now, friendships also and being connected also boost our immune system, it lowers our stress and anxiety, lowers our risk of chronic diseases. There’s a 30% higher risk of heart attack and stroke when someone is feeling lonely.

[0:06:31.8] PF: Oh, wow.

[0:06:32.9] KH: Yeah.

[0:06:32.8] PF: Yeah, and we’ve all heard that stat about loneliness is more deadly than smoking.

[0:06:37.6] KH: Yeah. Famous, like smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

[0:06:41.0] PF: Right. We intrinsically know friendships are good for us but as we reach certain levels of adulthood, it seems to become more difficult to make friends, and why is that?

[0:06:52.8] KH: Well, I think there are a lot of reasons. I just wrote an article on this at how our life stages change, and with each life stage, we’re faced with new situations and circumstances that change our needs for friends, the kinds of friends we want near us, our opportunities for friendships. For example, in mid-adulthood, let’s say from around like, 38, 39, through the early 40s, that’s when people are often really thinking more intensely about their careers, maybe they’re raising kids. They might have relocated.

They have friendships from their past, let’s say, maybe their college years, those friendships have started to fade or no longer serve them, and life is really, really busy, and packed schedule, which makes it very difficult to find time for our friends, and friends, developing friends require some time and commitment, and then as people move and to say like, the young old generation, which is like officially a term, like, from, you know, your 60s through your mid-70s, I mean, that’s when people start to experience empty nest or possibly retirement, or taking care of aging parents.

They’re – or in some cases, it might even be where people are deciding to really escalate their careers to their peak. So, things change, and then when I talk about social terrain, that’s really the social terrain of life that changes, and it’s important for us to recognize and understand where we are in life so that we can adapt the kinds of friends that we need in our lives.

[0:08:31.8] PF: Because when we’re in our 20s, it is so easy to make friends. Like, we grew up with friends, right? You had friends at school, you had friends in your neighborhood, you played together all the time, you go to college, same kind of deal, and then you know, you’re in your 20s and you’re working and everything, and you can go out every night and – well, individual results may vary.

But, you know, you’re doing a lot of things socially, you’re not settled down, and at that point in our lives, we don’t ever even think, like, “I need to make a friend.” It’s so easy and organic, and then, I think you –

[0:09:02.5] KH: It’s just built in.

[0:09:03.0] PF: Yet, surprised, over time, and realize, like, “Gosh, I’m not sure I know how to go out and make a friend.” So, how do people do that, how do they get better at making friends?

[0:09:14.9] KH: One of the first things I think as we think about making new friends is to be approachable, and to appear, at least, appear open to people. Whether that’s offering a smile, eye contact, seeming genuinely interested in someone, that’s very important because if you approach the world in a very standoffish kind of way, it doesn’t seem very inviting for others. The other thing, and I said this before is intention, and I think it’s important to think about what kinds of friends do we want in our lives.

What kind of friends do we currently have, where are our gaps? Am I missing someone to take walks with, do you know, I really would love to someone to go to an art class with me, or I’d love to have a better relationship with my neighbors so we could just randomly have a cup of coffee together but it’s almost like, it’s an assessment or an evaluation of what kinds of people you want in your life.

[0:10:23.7] PF: I am so glad you brought that up because you’re explaining we do have different kind of friends, and I think I hear people say, “I need to make some friends. I don’t have enough friends. I need to make friends.” And you are giving that a really good spin in saying, “Okay, but you got to be intentional about what is it that you want from that friend.” Because we have different needs and different purposes with different kinds of friends. You really do need to start identifying, as you said, where your gaps are.

[0:10:51.5] KH: Yeah. The first chapter of the book, as you know, is recognizing, and that is really about doing that inventory and recognizing the different kinds of friends that you have in your life because you have different needs. I mean, you know, I come from a big sports family, you know, Go Steelers. So, I have – we have a group of friends that just – they love watching football, and we do – that’s what we do together.

We love hanging out and watching games, and that sort of thing. Now, I have other friends that have – don’t even know what a football looks like, you know? Well, maybe they know what it looks like but you know, they’re not –

[0:11:27.9] PF: But they don’t know what to do with it.

[0:11:28.2] KH: Yeah, they don’t know what to do with it, and so it’s okay to have lots of different kinds of friends that fill those different compartments and needs in your life, and someone who maybe is a neighborly acquaintance, maybe someone you see and you chat with just walking your dog, or you know, maybe you talk about the weather or something random but those sort of organic built-in interactions are also very important to feel connected.

[0:11:59.7] PF: Yeah, those micro moments has borrowed friends and talks about it.

[0:12:02.5] KH: Yeah, I love that, yes, micro-moments.

[0:12:03.8] PF: Yeah, you do have to have those, and then you want those, what we call the three AM friends, who you know, like, you can call at any time, night or day, they will pick up the phone, they won’t be like, “Let’s listen to that message first and see what she wants.” They will always take your call and will always be there for you. So, that’s how is one that you really want to have too.

[0:12:23.5] KH: And I think the other thing, Paula, is you have to take risks to make new friends. Be the one who initiates. Be the one who sort of works through that awkwardness and makes the call or sends the text or makes the invite, and that’s how friends start to evolve, and I’m sure you’ve heard of the 11, three, six, rule, which I think was from a study from I think, Dunbar but that rule is that it takes about 11 interactions with someone, around three hours for interactions for at least around six months to move an acquaintance into a close friend.

Now, I think there are a lot of variables there because I think some of us move a little faster with conversation and interaction, and some of us have more time but I think the take-home message of that is it takes time and intention to get those relationships to a depth that you want.

[0:13:31.8] PF: Right, and you do have to invest at, you have to be willing to invest that. You know, when someone says, “Well, gosh, I just need to make some friends, you do have to sit down and say, almost like a gameplan, like, “How am I going to do this, where am I going to be and meet these people?” When we reliving in downtown Nashville, we had someone who had moved into our building, and they were like, “I’m not meeting anybody, I don’t have any friends.”

And we’re like, “Get a dog.” If you’re walking a dog, people will stop you, they’re going to pet your dog, they’re going to talk to you, and I made so many friends that we still have, you know, five years later that just because I was out walking my dog and he was a cute little dog.

[0:14:10.0] KH: That’s so true. That isn’t the other point that I want to make and that is start local or start familiar with things that can be organic. Like a dog park, like a coffee shop, like maybe it’s an event sponsored by your local library or your local food market but those are places, particularly if those are places that overlap with true interest of yours. Those are the places where you can start to form some new friendships but again, with you know, taking a risk and spending some time with it.

[0:14:45.9] PF: Absolutely.

[BREAK]

[0:14:48.8] PF: We’ll be back to hear more about friendship in just a moment.

[0:14:57.7] PF: And now, let’s hear more from Dr. Kimberly.

[INTERVIEW CONTINUED]

[0:15:02.0] PF: Now, one thing that you introduced, I love this, is you talk about dynamic friendship. Tell us what that is.

[0:15:08.7] KH: Yeah. So, I think that that’s an important part of this terrain I was talking about that friendships whacks and wane, and they change with us, and in order for us to continue to move toward the dynamic friendships, which are robust and meaningful, we have to put intention in them the right sorts of social skills, and the book title is really a play on words in two ways.

So, friends matter for life, friends matter for your life, for your well-being, and livelihood, and your health. That’s your life, and friends matter for life, the duration, across your life span. So, dynamic captures both of those things. It is for our health and our well-being and it matters across our lifespan, and we have some control over how much time, investment, and skill, and care, and love, and patience we want to put into those relationships for them to grow and flourish with us.

[0:16:22.9] PF: And you introduced these eight tenets of a dynamic friendship. Can you touch on what each of those are?

[0:16:28.6] KH: The first one we talked about was recognizing. So, I mentioned that briefly, and that’s really identifying those friends who make you feel safe and valued and understood, to see where your needs are, and to fill those gaps and what you feel like you’re missing in your friendship world. Communicating is the second one and I think that’s fairly obvious for most of us, although, it doesn’t come easy for a lot of people. It’s really learning how to be open and honest and empathic with people.

The third is accepting, and I feel like, this is very important because oftentimes, we want to put friends in our own boxes. We want them to be a certain way, we want them to act a certain way, and I think that it’s really important to embrace friends for who they are and moving through their changes with them, really embracing their differences and their imperfections because we’re all imperfect.

I mean, I know I mess up in my friendship sometimes, you don’t have to apologize and go back and try to fix it, and thankfully, my friends accept me for all my flaws and imperfections. The fourth and this moves into more of the social tenets that I call is blending and this is finding ways to, one, bring together friends from different parts of your life.

Whether that be you’re maybe a chair, you have some couple of friends, or maybe they’re actually family friends, or maybe they’re your football friends, or you have different needs and sometimes for, especially if it’s time and efficiency is challenging, then having group gatherings, maybe doing some blending with some people helps with time management.

It also helps people meet new friends, which I think is you know, if you’re a connector, then that is an important way to bring friendship to others, and the other thing I think about blending is just how we integrate friends into different parts of our lives. The fifth tenet is safeguarding and that’s about really protecting your relationships and knowing when you can help people avoid unnecessary complex or maybe you know that someone is being disparaging for them.

It’s really standing up for your friends and calling them on things when it’s important and necessary. I really value it, I have you know, a small group of friends who I know will call me on things and that’s very important because I think it’s extremely valuable for growth.

[0:19:15.8] PF: Yes, I’m glad you brought that up because a lot of times, we don’t want to be that friend that calls someone out, and then nobody wants a friend who’s like every time you do something they’re like, “Yep.” You know how it feels, I can get a referee with a penalty flag just waiting for you to mess up. Nobody wants that one but it is – I like it when a friend can say, “Hey, have you thought about it from this perspective?”

When they can say, “Maybe you’re being a little bit hard on that.” I think that’s so valuable and what it does for my standpoint is it builds more trust with that friend.

[0:19:44.6] KH: Absolutely.

[0:19:45.5] PF: And you know, we think sometimes like, “I can’t do that, they’re going to get mad. I can’t tell them that, I don’t want to upset them.” But I found exactly the opposite if it’s done with kindness and the right intention, there is an appreciation and a trust that it helps create.

[0:19:59.0] KH: A hundred percent, and sometimes, people will fade a little bit. Everyone needs a chance sometime to process difficult feedback.

[0:20:08.9] PF: Right.

[0:20:09.8] KH: Most of the time in my experience people come back, like you said, stronger trust and the bond, the bond is improved, I think.

[0:20:17.5] PF: Yeah, I would say it does.

[0:20:19.4] KH: Yeah, and then number six is reciprocating, and again, that’s the balance of giving and receiving in your relationships, which I think is critical. You don’t want to be that friend who always takes and you certainly don’t want to be the one who always gives because that, and you know what, that can take a toll as well. So, finding that balance in your friendships or mutual support I think is critical.

[0:20:43.9] PF: And let me ask you about that because I had a friend who – I said had a friend, I still have her, I have a friend who talks about that how she’s always the one who initiates with her other friends and she feels like she is always the one who is giving and I’ve said like, “Well, you know, is there a point where maybe you need to let some of that go if you’re not getting what you need out of those relationships?”

But in her mind, well, she doesn’t want to lose any more friends, she’s in her mid-40s now, and she feels her circle getting smaller so she doesn’t want to let them go. So, what in a situation like that where you aren’t getting your needs met and you are the one that’s not getting reciprocated, how do you approach that?

[0:21:26.2] KH: I think that we have to pay attention to our internal cues and if that reaches a point of caution or concern or resentment, then it might be time to back off of it a little bit. Now, some people are just simply the initiators and they’re fine with that role, they don’t mind that role, they like the control in that role, and their friends don’t mind it, and that’s one type of situation but if it becomes a situation where it’s raising anxiety and like I said, resentments.

[0:22:00.9] PF: Resentment.

[0:22:01.4] KH: Yeah, I think that one, you can back off, and two, it might require conversation particularly if it’s just with one or two individuals and a way to approach that conversation in a, again, in a kind and carrying way, “You know hey, I’ve been making all the plans lately, there’s something in particular, you know, you like to do just jump in, and let’s do something you want to do.” You can have those conversations I think in light sort of ways.

Number seven is difficult and it’s a little bit to the point that you were just making and that is recalibrating. It’s knowing when or if to quit a friendship or what kinds of adjustments you might need to make to improve that. I mean, is it just simply adjusting your expectations, or has it become so toxic and unfulfilling that it no longer serves you?

[0:22:57.4] PF: Right, and we don’t want to say that. We don’t want to – we think of the time we’ve had with that person and it’s really hard to admit that you’ve outgrown it or they’ve outgrown it or it has just outrun its purpose. How do you go about kind of recalibrating, assessing that, making sure that you’re not just making a decision you’re going to regret later?

[0:23:20.5] KH: I’m glad you said that because I think that not all friendships are meant to last forever and they have a purpose and a place in time in our lives in this very terrain that we talk about and because you decide or someone else decides to just quit a friendship or maybe just fades, it’s not intentional it just fades, doesn’t mean that it’s a failed friendship. It means that it served a purpose for you at one point and no longer serves that purpose.

And you have to find other relationships or you already have other relationships to put your energy into and most of the times, those sorts of friendships do fade. There are certainly situations where you have a direct conversation of what’s going on with us. I feel attention, “We haven’t talked in weeks and can we chat about what’s going on?” Sometimes, those are – you can approach those things and they work themselves out.

I mean, sometimes a friendship set that has faded just simply needs a little bit of a reboot the conversation, and sometimes they fade and it’s okay, and I think that people need to give themselves permission for that to happen.

[0:24:42.7] PF: Yeah, because we don’t really think about it from that angle and it’s, you know, it’s that ending. We don’t want to think about it, we don’t want to have an exit strategy for our friendships but it is important to think about it in its totality.

[0:24:57.6] KH: And friendship breakups are painful.

[0:24:59.5] PF: They are.

[0:25:00.0] KH: To go back to your early point about platonic love, it’s friendship breakups are a unique kind of pain and you know our society doesn’t talk about that too much, and whether you’re the one doing the breaking up or you’re on the receiving end, it’s very difficult.

[0:25:16.8] PF: And I’ve seen friends who have children who go through this a lot say their children went through like Montessori school together, and so they’ve been with the parents and they’ve been friends and well now, the kids hit a certain age, they start developing different interest. They go to junior high, they’re off doing their own things, and you no longer have that relationship, that friendship that you had with that parent because they’ve entered a new world too, and I’ve seen some parents go through some really difficult times because they miss that.

[0:25:48.6] KH: Yeah. Yeah, and those are those different life stages. At mid-life, you’ve got your kids’ sports activities or you know, whatever activities that you’re – it’s convenient for a friendship.

[0:26:00.5] PF: Right.

[0:26:00.9] KH: I mean, it happens organically, you’re hanging out on the field chatting or you know, just those sorts of things happen organically, and those are real losses when it no longer fits into the schedule.

[0:26:12.3] PF: I do like that. So, they do need to take time to kind of grieve that loss and recognize it.

[0:26:17.0] KH: Absolutely.

[0:26:17.4] PF: And not feel silly or shame that it is so painful.

[0:26:21.8] KH: And talk about it. I mean, talk about to people that feel safe and comfortable to talk about that you’re grieving a friendship because people, we’re not trained as a society to proactively reach out to people when we know or even if we know they’re grieving a friendship, and that goes with death and loss in that way too. I know that a lot of my parents’ friends for example have been over the past few years have been passing.

And it is, you know, our society is accustomed to reaching out, you know, to spouses and family members and not so much to grieving friends and I think that –

[0:27:04.2] PF: That’s a great point.

[0:27:04.7] KH: We could do a little better job at.

[0:27:06.9] PF: Yeah, and that’s a great reminder for all of us if you know someone who’s lost a friend and just feeling free to reach out to them because that –

[0:27:14.8] KH: Again, that friendship pain is

[0:27:18.8] PF: Yeah, that’s a tough one. So, what is that final, the eighth?

[0:27:24.1] KH: The eighth one, and it seems to be a fan favorite –

[0:27:29.3] PF: I feel like I should have a drumroll or some kind of –

[0:27:31.7] KH: Self-friending and that is showing up for yourself with the same care and kindness and love that you would a friend because I think how we treat ourselves is often a mirror to how we relate to our friends and –

[0:27:51.8] PF: And self-friending can be the toughest one because we’re going to be the hardest on ourselves, you know it really goes back to self-compassion and learning how to have some of that for ourselves, gives ourselves a little grace once in a while. So, how do we go about approaching self-friending?

[0:28:08.0] KH: Yeah, and, in the book, I talk about you know, the variety of things of – and again, these – some of them seem common sense but we – I think we need reminders sometimes to you know, take time to refuel, to recharge ourselves and our batteries. We get so busy sometimes and we forget even just the small policies during the day, and to take time to be in touch with your feelings each day, and what’s –

Even if it’s just a few minutes to pause over, you know, give yourself a chance or five minutes for a cup of tea just to really be in tune with what’s going on with yourself. I think that it’s also important to make sure you spend time, you have some time blocked up to do the things that you enjoy. I mean, you would give a friend the same counsel. It’s like, “Okay, you’re feeling a little stressed or down today, maybe, you know, get out and work on your garden a little bit or go take a walk,” or you know, those sorts of things.

So, just being aware of what’s happening in your mind, your body, your emotion, on a day-to-day basis, and I think that’s particularly important right now because our country has been experiencing so much divide that – and I don’t care where you fall politically, it has been extremely difficult for people to manage some of these conflicts.

[0:29:29.5] PF: Well, I’m glad you brought that up because I had a question about that because, during this time of extreme division, it can strain, it can end friendships. So, how do we, first of all, maintain our self-care and how do we maintain friendships even if we disagree? Because we can love someone very, very much, and absolutely abhor their politics.

[0:29:52.8] KH: Yeah. So, you know, I was reading a couple of articles right around before the final election results and around 70% of people were feeling incredibly stressed by the election and a third of people in this country have made a decision to end or stop spending time with someone they loved because of political differences. So, this is pervasive right now, and I don’t think that because of the election is over that that has dissipated.

In fact, I think, it is actually exacerbated a bit right now. So, the way that I like to think about it, Paula, is that when we love and care about people who have different political or social views, right now, we have three options. One, we can choose to interact with that person, spend time with them, and let that time be focused on things we have in common, our shared histories, time we spent together past family events, or with our other – with our friendship circles.

And we can spend time with them, and just avoid, avoid the hard stuff. Just don’t talk about it. You just agree that that’s just off the table right now for you and I think that that has a place. The second option is to choose to have a discussion and create some boundaries for discussion. If let’s just say, you haven’t really had a discussion with that person you love and care about, you’ve just been kind of going through the motions and not really dealing with it, you can choose to have a discussion and create some boundaries around that.

You can control the space, you can control the time, and you can control the topic. Maybe you can be very specific about it, just wrap a fence around it, and always give yourself the option to exit the conversation if it’s not going in the direction that feels okay. The third option is to pause the relationship for a little bit until you have a chance to sort of regroup and process where you want that relationship to go.

Division doesn’t have to be filled with anger and hostility, and all those uncomfortable very difficult heavy emotions. I think we have alternatives when we love and care about someone.

[0:32:38.1] PF: And that’s so important because it might even be different from one friend to the next.

[0:32:45.1] KH: My goal would be that I could have a conversation with most people at some point because I think that dialog is one of the most important ways for us to begin to mend some of our divide. I think that when we approach people with kindness that – and curiosity and really trying to understand where our shared humanity is that we’re not compromising our values. It really is making a choice to embrace our common humanity versus just abandoning people altogether, especially those people that we love and care about.

[0:33:24.4] PF: That is great insight. Kimberly, I appreciate you sitting down with me. I am going to tell our listeners how they can find you, how they can find your book, where they can get more about you. Thank you for coming on the show and for all the work that you’re doing.

[0:33:39.5] KH: Thank you so much.

[END OF INTERVIEW]

[0:33:45.5] PF: That was Dr. Kimberly Horn, talking about the importance of friendship. If you’d like to learn more about Kimberly, follow her on social media or discover her book, Friends Matter for Life. Just visit us at LiveHappy.com and click on this podcast episode, and while you’re there, be sure to sign up for our new and improved, Live Happy Newsletter. We’ve expanded to include more of the latest research on happiness, uplifting stories, our new, “Look for the Good” word search puzzle, book recommendations from positive psychology experts, and of course, our happy song of the week.

That is all we have time for today, we’ll meet you back here again next week for an all-new episode, and until then, this is Paula Felps, reminding you to make every day a happy one.

[END]

In this episode, you’ll learn:

What’s driving the loneliness epidemic and what effect that has on us.
The concept of “dynamic friendships” and the 8 tenets of friendships — and how they can support your relationships.
Why it’s harder to make friends in adulthood and what to do about it.

Visit Dr. Kimberly’s website.

Follow her on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.horn.182
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkimberlyhorn/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kimberly-horn-862b3ba5

Don’t Miss a Minute of Happiness!

If you’re not subscribed to the weekly Live Happy newsletter, you’re missing out! Sign up to discover new articles and research on happiness, the latest podcast, special offers from sponsors, and even a happy song of the week. Subscribe for free today!

Interested in advertising or partnering with us? Complete this quick form.