Friendship Day: Loneliness and Boosting Mental Health

Friendship Day shines a light on the fundamental importance of social connections in a world that often feels isolating. Digital lifestyles, remote work, and busy schedules have deepened a loneliness epidemic—one that’s felt particularly acutely by neurodiverse individuals, people with personality disorders, and trauma survivors. This day invites us to pause, acknowledge those unique challenges, and rekindle the warmth that genuine friendship brings to every mind and heart.

The Loneliness Epidemic

• One in four adults report feeling lonely often, a figure that’s risen sharply over the past decade.

  
  

• Chronic loneliness increases risk for depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular issues.

  
  

• Social isolation disrupts sleep, weakens immune response, and elevates stress hormones.

  
  

• Communities with stronger social ties report higher life satisfaction and lower healthcare costs.

Friendships Protect Our Well-Being

• Strengthening Emotional Resilience: Friends act as a reliable support network during life’s toughest moments. Sharing challenges with trusted people reduces perceived stress, speeds emotional recovery, and teaches us coping strategies that bolster long-term resilience.

• Boosting Self-Esteem and Confidence: When friends affirm our worth, they reinforce a positive self-image. Regular encouragement from peers translates into greater courage to pursue goals and try new experiences.

• Supporting Physical Health: Close friendships often encourage healthier routines—like exercising together or sharing nutritious meals. Studies show people with strong social ties have lower risks of chronic illness and tend to live longer.

• Fostering Belonging and Purpose: Feeling part of a group satisfies our innate need for connection. Belonging lowers feelings of shame and isolation, replacing them with a sense of shared identity and meaning.

Diverse Perspectives: Neurodiverse, Personality Disorders, and Trauma Survivors

People experience friendship differently depending on their neurobiology, life history, and relational patterns. Recognising these nuances can help us forge more inclusive, supportive communities.

• Neurodiverse Experiences: Autistic and ADHD individuals may find unwritten social rules confusing or group gatherings overwhelming. Sensory overload, executive-function barriers, and a tendency toward literal communication can make spontaneous “friendship day” plans feel stressful rather than celebratory.

• Personality Disorder Dynamics: Those with borderline or other personality disorders often navigate intense fears of abandonment and unstable relationship patterns. Friendship Day can trigger anxiety around perceived loyalty tests, idealisation and devaluation cycles, or boundary confusion.

• Trauma Survivors’ Challenges: Past relational trauma rewires trust circuits, making it harder to open-up or read safety cues. Well-meaning friendship invitations may feel intrusive, and celebrating can bring up fears of vulnerability or replay painful ruptures.

• Shifts in the Wider Community: Social media movements and neurodiversity-affirming spaces have helped normalise diverse communication styles. Sensory-friendly meetups, trauma-informed event planning, and online peer-support groups now offer alternative ways to connect—acknowledging that one-size-fits-all celebrations can exclude those with different needs.

Therapies Fostering Friendships at Cleary Counselling

• Internal Family Systems (IFS)Clients access their “Self-energy,” an inner companion that models the empathetic, consistent presence of a good friend. This part then guides protector and exile parts toward cooperation and trust in external relationships.

• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR): By installing “resource memories” of supportive moments—real or imagined—clients build internal anchors of safety they can call on when social interactions feel overwhelming or risky.

• Hypno-CBT: Guided imagery scripts rehearse positive social scenarios in vivid detail, embedding confidence and reducing anticipatory anxiety. Over time, these mental rehearsals form new neural pathways that support spontaneous friendly engagement.

• Polyvagal-Informed Practices: Co-regulation techniques—like paced breathing and gentle pendulation—prime the nervous system for safety and social engagement. Clients learn to sense inviting cues in others and respond from a grounded, open state.

You could use Friendship Day to …

• Reach Out to Old Friends: Send a message or schedule a video catch-up to reignite connections in a low-pressure way.

• Plan a Casual Gathering: Host a sensory-considerate picnic, coffee date, or quiet game night—tailor the setting to everyone’s needs.

• Express Gratitude: Write heartfelt notes or voice messages highlighting why each friend matters to you.

• Volunteer Together: Join a local community event or charity drive—working side by side deepens bonds through shared purpose.

• Embrace New Connections: Attend a hobby group, book club, or online forum that respects neurodiversity and trauma-informed communication.

Friendship Day is an invitation to honour the connections that anchor our mental health—especially for those navigating neurodiversity, personality challenges, or past trauma. At Cleary Counselling, we weave friendship into every modality, guiding clients to build, heal, and sustain authentic bonds. Whether through internal resource installation or body-based co-regulation, our trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming approach helps you carry the strength of friendship into every aspect of life. Embrace this day as a fresh opportunity to reach out, deepen your bonds, and foster the sense of belonging we all deserve.