Match.com dating site taps Dr. Levine’s expertise

September 14, 2009

Stick with your Sisters – Match.com 

How many times have your girlfriends saved your sanity and lowered your stress levels? Now there’s scientific evidence that says, yes, you must keep girls’ night out on your calendar: It’s good for your health!

By Cary Barbor

…Social cues drive us, as well. "Unfortunately, many women still define themselves by their relationship status," says Karin Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Concordia University in Chicago. Some women may feel like they’re not where they’re supposed to be unless they have a man. So they treat their friends as placeholders until they get a boyfriend or a husband. Then they ditch the girlfriends and put all their energy into their romantic relationship.

Besides its being extremely rude, we now know that this behavior damages our health. And there’s also the very practical matter of perspective. "No matter how robust your relationship with a boyfriend or husband, there are many things that women can share only with other women: emotional issues, their concerns about their bodies, problems with their mothers and more," says Irene S. Levine, author of Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend. "Female friendships are some of the most important and enduring relationships in a woman’s life," she adds. You simply cannot replace them with a romance. "But friendships don’t last forever on their own. They need to be nurtured," she adds.

So how can you tell if you’ve been treating your pals like so much chopped liver? And what can you do about it?

Click here to read the entire article.

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