Heal Lift
The Calming Effects of the beloved sitcom in Anxious Times
Psychologists have discovered that "Friends" may have calming effects on people who are anxious. Given everything that has been going on, including the tragic death of the great actor Matthew Perry, who portrayed Chandler Bing on the television series F.R.I.E.N.D.S., we felt that this conversation was overdue.
Although we are sure that everyone is familiar with Friends and its plot, just in case any of you are not, let us provide a quick overview. Friends is an American television sitcom that lasted for 10 seasons on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. It was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. The show is about sex, love, relationships, careers, and a time in your life when everything is possible, according to Crane, Kauffman, and Bright's proposal to NBC. It's also about friendship, because in the city, your friends become your family if you're single.
The comedy, which stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer among its ensemble cast, centers on six Manhattan, New York City-based friends in their 20s and 30s. The series won numerous other honors and titles while being nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards.
Even though Friends has been off the air for 18 years, there is still a sizable fan base that watches the show on repeat, and for the majority of us, it has become the ideal comfort television. The enormous fan base and numerous reruns continue to demonstrate how reassuring the show is to watch! And guess what? Watching Friends can relieve stress and improve mental wellness!
Marc Hekster, a clinical psychologist at The Summit Clinic in Highgate states that among other factors, it is the repetitive and relational nature of programs such as Friends and Big Bang Theory that does the trick. Seeing the comedy show's characters deal with genuine problems makes it more approachable and helps viewers find better solutions to their own problems.
Anxiety is the alarm system of the human mind. Hekster says it's a sign that something's not right and often comes from emotions we haven't dealt with. There is always a need to discover a way out because the emotional build-up is akin to that of a pressure cooker. The alarm system goes off if they are unable to be voiced, and anxious people rarely have positive things to say about it and usually want to get away from it.
Hekster believes that Friends is about an experience of repair, of witnessing the characters' repeated worries, which are then eased and repaired, usually in the context of other relationships in their lives. Despite your worries about your job, finances, or a host of other real-life problems, you can take comfort in watching Friends.
Each episode focuses on a complex topic that is solved within the relationships that are the core of the series. It offers a diversion and a small sense of comfort that problems can be resolved reasonably easily while we sit and worry about whether we're going to get that promotion at work, how we're going to pay our bills, and whether or not that guy we like will text us back.
Though it could give your brain a brief boost, it can also deceive you into thinking that difficult problems can be solved easily, making it unrealistic to use as a compass in daily life. You may come to feel that their issues can be resolved just as quickly as Phoebe's or Joey's if they buy into this romanticized portrayal of the world, which is a very unreasonable standard to hold reality to.
With that being said, what needs to be highlighted is that knowing you can rely on the same result every time is comforting. "This is about the healing nature of repetition," Hekster clarifies. Repetition can help adults who are worried by relieving their childlike sentiments of dread and worry. The primary mechanism by which the show benefits the brain is the way the human mind responds to it. The brain reacts to stress and worry by creating fear and anxiety, which are subsequently subsided by repetition and consoling emotions.
Isn't that the whole point? To be happy and relaxed? Because most of us are hopeless and awkward and despair for love. Or, as Chandler would say "Couldn't watching Friends be any more comforting?"
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