Reaching out to an old friend can be good for you

If you haven't reached out to an old friend in a long time, a new study finds doing so could boost your mental health - and theirs.

Many of us lead busy lives and easily lose touch with good friends, family and colleagues, but this new study suggests reaching out can be good for the soul. 

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh analyzed data on almost 6,000 participants who were asked when they last texted, emailed or called a person they had lost touch with just to check in or to think of a time when someone reached out to them. They found that those who did the reaching out underestimated how much their surprise gesture meant to the person on the receiving end.  

It feels good to be remembered and not forgotten. And after the past two years, more Americans are dealing with mental health struggles and feelings of loneliness and isolation, so this is the perfect time to place a call or send an email or text to an old friend just to say "hi" and reconnect. 

In:
• Mental Health

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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