IRON COUCH
  • Home
  • About & Contact
  • Svenska
  • Different Cultures & Career...
    • Understand different cultures
    • Career Choice
  • Couple & Family Therapy
  • Israel
  • Testimonials
  • Sexuality & Realtionships
  • Mental and Physical Fitness
  • Fitness Consultation
  • Mentorship
  • Muscle Building program 1
  • At Your Place...
  • Angels' Share
  • Articles
    • How to improve the relationship with your wife!
    • Friendships
    • Six ways to eliminate depression
    • Drumming for health
  • Videos
    • Schizophrenia
  • Blog
Therapy For Your Psyche & Physique

Friendships I

10/2/2020

 
This is the first out of 3-4 blogs about friendships
In my view, friendships are underrated, and many do not take them as seriously as they should. My book (work in progress and yet to be named) is about the two forms of relationships a majority of people have throughout life; romantic relationships with partners and good friends. As mentioned, in my opinion, the latter isn't taken seriously enough. It differs from culture to culture. For example, if I talk about the culture, I'm most familiar with, the Swedish regarding friendships which is a "bit cold."  For example,  not to attend a friend's parent's funeral. Neither invites good friends to their child's wedding.
Furthermore, workmates are usually not on the guestlist for a colleague's wedding. These examples are not empirically validated, just what I experienced and know about the Swedish mentality. Why is it like this? It has to do with treating and categorizing people differently and being politically correct. There are family and relatives in Sweden and then further down the list friends and colleagues. I have a problem with this, or I wouldn't write about it. For me, a good friend isn't just a "mate" I always try to treat my good friends like a sister or brother.
Israel has a different "friendship culture" compared with Sweden. Due to the mandatory military service after high school, boys do three and girls two years. It forms deep, many times lifelong relationships. You have friends for life, even after the service you meet (if you are a male) every year for about three weeks to do reserve service, into the late thirties depending on your civil status. In Israeli society, people rely on their army buddies; they call them up if they need help. Israel is a small country. Even though one doesn't know everyone, society is built on connections and favors (which contributes to a high level of back-scratching and corruption). As an outsider coming to Israel at age 46 with no Israeli military service, I have a different experience. I have had three friends in the past who behaved like really good friends after knowing them for only a short time. I thought I had good friends for years to come. All three, in different ways, didn't keep the (my) unwritten rules of friendship. We aren't friends anymore because I became deeply insulted, and when confronted, I was only met with a "blank stare" and defensive B.S. Of course, this could be culturally related, and from my side, having high standards on how a friend should behave. 
The bottom line is what I write extensively in my book is about commitment and effort, which differ tremendously between the romantic and the friendship relationship for most people. 
Cheers,
Chris, IronCouch.com




Comments are closed.

    Author

    Husband, Father, Friend Swedish, Canadian, Psychology, Health, Exercise, Archery, Guitar playing, Carving, 
    "Keeping your head in the sand too long isn't healthy, you will eventually suffocate.Speak up and speak the truth!"

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

                                 
​I​C-IronCouch
Th
erapy & Fitness

 Location:
Israel, Haifa area & Mj
ölby, Sweden.

                                            Contact us:
    kallevag@yahoo.com    
 +972-(0)50-992-2601  & WhatsApp           
                                                                                           

  • Home
  • About & Contact
  • Svenska
  • Different Cultures & Career...
    • Understand different cultures
    • Career Choice
  • Couple & Family Therapy
  • Israel
  • Testimonials
  • Sexuality & Realtionships
  • Mental and Physical Fitness
  • Fitness Consultation
  • Mentorship
  • Muscle Building program 1
  • At Your Place...
  • Angels' Share
  • Articles
    • How to improve the relationship with your wife!
    • Friendships
    • Six ways to eliminate depression
    • Drumming for health
  • Videos
    • Schizophrenia
  • Blog