Who can you count on? Friends

Friendships enrich your life. Important events become more meaningful when they are shared with friends and loved ones. Often, your relationships change as you go through the many phases of life. Things like school, sports, work, marriage, parenting and hobbies can bring new friends. Sharing life experiences creates feelings that are familiar and comfortable.

Open up

The instinct to get up close and personal with people often declines as you age.² You reserve your authentic self for a close few. However, you cannot maintain deep relationships by keeping people at arm’s length. Talking about your secrets, desires and changes in your life is what really builds lasting connections. Start small, and don’t share things that make you feel uncomfortable. Your supportive friends will appreciate what it takes for you to share. They may even recognize your struggle and thank you for trusting them.

Seek new, similar-minded friends

You can be proactive about finding new friends as an adult. Find your community. Your next “BFF” could be someone you just met. Bonding during a shared activity could be your gateway to deep, long-term friendships. Changing lifestyles can change the dynamic of your longtime friendships. With communication, trust and the intention to keep friends, you can keep the companionship, compassion and value your best friends have always given you.

A toast to you

In social settings, it’s usually easy to find friends to share the good times—weekly happy hours or special nights out. But what happens when a friend chooses sober living? Is your lifetime of shared parties and life celebrations over? Not if it’s a good friend. When you and your friends share celebratory moments, alcohol doesn’t need to be involved. Mocktails are the way to go, and there are so many variations available. There are options designed to mimic the flavors of traditional cocktails. Try mixing up non-alcoholic versions of drinks like mojitos (club soda, lime juice, agave and muddled mint), piña coladas (pineapple juice and coconut water) and gin and tonics (tonic water and lime juice). You can also create completely original combinations when you follow simple rules for building better drinks.

Mocktail rule of thumb

Make-your-own mocktail

Allow your taste to direct you. If you like sweet, tart, herby or spicy, your drink can reflect those tastes.³ There are no hard-and-fast rules on this adventure.

• Start with a tall glass and plenty of ice.
• Choose any combination of sour, spicy and/or sweet. Add 2 ounces of any flavored simple syrups or 1 ounce of any flavored shrubs. It can be flavored with berries, rosemary, thyme, honey or citrus.
• Or add 1 ounce of a flavored shrub, which is a vinegar-based syrup typically made from fresh fruit. It is used to layer in sweet yet acidic flavors.
• Add no more than two dashes of nonalcoholic bitters or hot sauce.
• Top with 4 ounces of a mixer. Options include anything light and/or fizzy, like club soda, tonic water, flavored seltzer, ginger beer, zero-sugar ginger ale or lemon-lime soda. Consider fresh-squeezed grapefruit, orange, lemon or lime juice, coconut water or flavored iced teas like passion fruit, ginger, chamomile or peppermint.
• Stir well and garnish with fresh fruits or cucumber slices. Herbs or spice blends can also be used to coat the rim of your glass.

Enjoy! Get your personal meal plan today Drinking a mocktail is one way to sleep better. Learn about tips for better sleep here. Published September 18, 2024