Did you know that 15 million American adults have some form of social anxiety? Making friends is hard enough, but trying to make friends when you suffer from social anxiety is even harder.
Whether you have social anxiety or not, how can you form meaningful friendships with others? In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to build friendships that last and that are meaningful, too.
Read on to learn more tips for different activities for making meaningful friendships!
1. Get Outdoors
Spending time in nature is a great way to boost your mental health, but doing it with someone else is a great way to form a relationship!
There are so many things you can do outdoors, and it takes the stress out of the conversation and feeling forced to sit across one another as you create a friendship. Instead, you are both being active, doing something that preoccupies you. When you want to converse, you can, but it won’t be awkward if you are not, either.
So what types of things can you do outdoors to build a meaningful friendship?
You should try out hiking, spending time in nature at the beach or on a lake, go boating, watch the sunset or the sunrise with a picnic, or go on a nice bike ride around town!
2. Workout Together
You know what they say – couples that work out together, stay together. The same could go for forming friendships!
You are both doing something you are passionate about, so you are building a relationship around that idea.
The best part about working out together is that there is no set way to do it. You could go on a bike ride along the beach, or you could head to your local gym to lift weights for an hour.
Either way, there are so many benefits to working out together! A few of these are:
- You both will work harder when you workout together
- You will try new things based on what your friend wants to do
- You will feel more dedicated to working out, which makes you more likely to show up
Another benefit is that you will feel closer to your friend. Studies show that when you work out with a group or someone else, you build stronger bonds. When you create these stronger bonds, you also perform better.
3. Bond Over Hardship
It can be quite intimidating to talk about your problems sometimes, especially if your friendship is new. However, being vulnerable can actually strengthen your relationships.
When something difficult happens in your life, it is extremely beneficial to lean on your friends for help. When you do this and you get the support that you were looking for, your reward system will activate. This means that you will seek out this friendship again next time you have a hardship.
Now your friend also knows that they can lean on you during their own challenges as well.
But how can you bring up your challenges and hardships?
Try talking over a meal. You could also go grab a coffee to sit down and discuss what is going on in your life. If these things make you feel awkward, try talking during an activity that doesn’t necessarily force you to talk – like running, biking, heading to the beach, or something else of the sort.
4. Travel Together
Travel is an extremely powerful tool to use when you want to build friendships or any relationship for that matter. The experience of seeing new places, experiencing new things, and doing it all together can create a bond that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
This doesn’t mean that you have to travel to a different country, though! Instead, you can try traveling for a day trip. Here are a few ideas that you can try that would get you traveling, but not in a way that is unrealistic at most points:
- Go to a local State Park for the day
- Rent a cabin for you and your friends that is just a couple of hours away for the weekend
- Play tourist in your own city – try a new restaurant, do a touristy activity like seeing a sight in your own backyard, etc.
By doing these activities, you’ll both be creating memories together and building your friendship.
5. Play Games
Who doesn’t love a good game night? If you are looking for a more relaxed night or even a weekend day, you could play games with your friends!
Playing games is a mentally stimulating activity that sparks fun competition and enjoyable conversations. By participating in these games together, you are bonding over something that you both have in common – the love for playing games!
Depending on what you and your friend enjoy, you could play several different games. Maybe try one card game and one board game for the day!
Build a Meaningful Friendship
Building meaningful friendships in our world is not the easiest thing to do. It can be intimidating, and sometimes it is downright scary!
However, there are ways around that scary part of making meaningful friendships. By participating in one of these five activities above, you can make forming a bond much easier! Building a relationship while bonding over these activities will only make you both come out closer than ever!
If you feel the same way about dating, you should check out Special Bridge – a dating platform that matches you specifically with a partner that would be a good fit. We offer, support, a safe environment, and so much more!
Join today – you won’t regret it!
