What does a friend mean?

Probably, there are friends in the life of every person. But often it happens that under the guise of a true friend lies the enemy, and when we understand this, we are deeply disappointed in people. What does a friend mean? How to determine if a person close to you is a friend or not?

Friendship is first and foremost a feeling that representsunselfish relations between people, which are built on trust and respect. Any friendship is considered real if it is built on the following points:

• trust and respect;
• mutual sympathy and mutual understanding;
• sincerity and unselfishness;
• common interests and interests.

Nowadays the concept of what real friends means is still preserved, but more and more you see that friendship is replaced by completely different relations with it. So, friendship is not:

• friendly relations (they directly depend on communication, so if you do not talk for a long time, and then meet on the street and pass by, just saying hello, it's not friendship at all);
• romantic relationships (very often people confuse friendly relations with love, taking the first for the second and, conversely, it is important to talk with each other).

The concept of a friend in relationships

So, what does it mean to be a friend? The most loyal friend should possess the following qualities:

• be sincere and open;
• be able to sympathize;
• be unselfish;
• be able to listen and be interested in experiences;
• be ready to come to the rescue in a difficult moment;
• be able to recognize your mistakes and forgive;
• to be able to keep other people's secrets;
• be able to give and take advice.

True friends are attached to each other asrule until the end of their days. It should be remembered that friendship has no restrictions in terms of sex and age, and is in no way connected with sexual desires.

Common myths about friendship

For many centuries the society carefully worked out various myths concerning different relations between people of different sexes. There are certain myths about friendship:

• there is only a real male friendship (the myth that true men can only be true friends);
• There is no female friendship (the myth that women do not know how to disinterestedly and selflessly communicate with each other because of mercantile interests);
• There is no friendship between a man and a woman (the myth that all men see in women only a sexual object);
• Friendship is always opposed to love (the myth that the most good friendship can be spoiled by love relationships).

So, if you understand what a true friend means, andalso freed from the stereotypes imposed by society, then you will be able to build normal healthy relationships with others in the future and avoid disappointment.