3.4 - The Power of Female Friendships

Welcome back to season three of G+T Conversations! We are your hosts, Gwenda + Tatjana, and in this episode, we speak about Female Friendship and why friendships are so important. Follow G+T Conversations on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@GTconversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and join the conversation.

G+T Catch-up:

• Gwenda's football team Young Guns FC hosted a Meet&Greet with Aman Dosanj (Former England Goalkeeper, Former Arsenal Goalkeeper, and Former Southampton Goalkeeper, First British South Asian representing England).
• Tatjana participated in a charity walk to support the work for people with leprosy done by Rising Stars Outreach.

Some of the things we mentioned in this episode:

• According to research it takes 40-60 hours of time spent together to consider someone an acquaintance, 80-100 hours to consider someone a friend, and up to 200 hours to consider someone a close friend.
• How did Tatjana and Gwenda became friends? We had a common friend who "forced" us to meet up for coffee because she thought we would hit it off...
• After 3 years of friendship, Tatjana moved to Goa and we were doing a long-distance friendship for a few years.
• Friendships take effort!
• Not every friendship is meant for forever (Eg: School and college friendships might stay alive based on shared memories, but may not give you the same energy when it comes to your present or even future. And that's okay!)
• Every friendship is different and you need to figure out what works for you and your friend.
• Research shows that women with strong social connections were 50% more likely to live longer than those with weak social ties. (Harvard Women’s Health Watch, 2010)
• Female friendships in media are often portrayed in a b*tchy and negative way which is not true.
• Men and women react very different to stress: men are usually reacting with fight or flight, while women react with tend or befriend. This is also seen in the way we communicate in friendships when we face stress.
• Talking about your problems reduces your risk of developing depressive symptoms by 40%.
• How to make friends as an adult? Find people with a common interests (eg. books, football, etc) by attending events, join groups, etc.
• Meet new people for experiences that create connections and shared memories.
• Finding friends as an adult is a bit like dating: you really have to put yourself out there and make an effort to meet new people.
• Growing friendships take time and don't be scared to open up and share your thoughts, fears and dreams. Be vulnerable because that's the only way to create truly meaningful and deep friendships.
• Bonus Tip: Tatjana and Gwenda plan monthly friendship dates. Each one plans a surprise activity to do together on alternative months.

Follow G+T Conversations on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@GTconversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also connect with us on our personal accounts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gwendaschobert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@craving_expat_life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Tune in every Friday for a new episode.

* G+T Conversations is created using Spotify for Podcasters. The music is Motivating Indie Rock (30s) by UNIVERSFIELD (https://freesound.org/s/755863/, License: Attribution 4.0) and Fifties Stomp Clap Loop 115BPM.wav by waggstar (https://freesound.org/s/698782/, License: Creative Commons 0).