*Because this is a personal experience, the author of this story prefers to remain anonymous.

When summer break started, I barely had anyone I could talk with. To make things worse, I was also experiencing a lot of mental health issues. Without friends, I felt isolated because I had nobody to share my difficulties with. When school began, I was unable to express my feelings since most of my friends couldn’t understand what I was going through; they never had to deal with this sort of problem. Nobody around me could relate, and it made me feel like an outcast.

But one day, I met someone who was going through the same problem I was. We bonded instantly, and since then we’ve been looking out for each other, giving each other advice, comfort, or just lending an ear. It felt amazing to know that I wasn’t alone anymore.

She isn’t the only one who thinks that friends are necessary for a happy life.

“Friends make a difference in my life because they’re influential, and they’re people that you stick with all the time. For example, I sit next to them at lunch, and that’s nice because I have someone to talk to,” said Abi, a seventh-grade student at Day Creek Intermediate.

Support and encouragement are needed among friends. They can also shape a person’s character.

“Friends can really affect your mental health. For example, if you hang out with really sad people, and they always think about really negative things, that can affect the way you think. It’ll bring negative thoughts. If you hang around good or happy people, that’s going to affect your mood too,” said Abi.

Attitudes are contagious because friends can pass along either negative or positive emotions. In other words, someone’s personality traits can leave an impact on those around them.

“Friends can boost a person’s mental health because they provide support and connection in a way that no other thing can. On the other hand, friends are human, so they can also disappoint people and harm their mental health,” said Grace C., a Day Creek Intermediate parent.

According to the article “Why Healthy Friendships are Important for Mental Health,” good friends can provide a nonjudgmental perspective. They can also increase someone’s sense of purpose, boost their self-confidence, and help manage stress and anxiety. People who have close, healthy friendships in adolescence are less likely to experience depression or anxiety later on.

In contrast, some friendships can be toxic. Certain friends often criticize others, leading to self-doubt. After hearing negativity from a friend, a person could end up forming a negative perspective of themselves. Drama and gossip among friends can be overwhelming, adding unnecessary stress to one’s mental health.

“[Friends] can be supportive to teens’ mental health, but they can also be detrimental, and I think that all has to do with the individual and the people that they choose to associate with,” said Ms. Gaines, a student counselor at Day Creek Intermediate.