19/05/2026
“The therapeutic value of friendship must be emphasized…”
I kept thinking of this quote by Robert Firestone while I was in Europe. My loves, I deeply believe that friendships are one of the most overlooked relational teachers we have.
Most of us did not grow up with healthy models of romantic love. We inherited fusion, shame, over-functioning, mind-reading, projecting, and the pressure to perform closeness rather than actually experience it. We pieced together our ideas about s*x and romance from movies, sitcoms, p**n, and other cultural narratives.
But I’ve discovered that FRIENDSHIPS can be our greatest teachers and I got to experience the magic firsthand on my recent trip to Europe.
Healthy friendships teach us how to remain connected without possession. How to tolerate our differences. How to repair. How to hear “no” without collapsing. How to maintain individuality while still staying emotionally available.
I can hear you saying, “but Lauren, why are friendships good for our s*x lives!?!?”
David Schnarch wrote that “s*xual desire is fueled by individuality, not by fusion.” In other words, eroticism deepens when we can remain ourselves in the presence of another person. (And chances are - you do a better job of this in friendships then in your romantic relationships…)
The more self-defined we become, the more capable we are of bringing our real wants into the room. (Kinky, vanilla, tender, or wild!)
Friendship is a practice ground for differentiation.
Intimacy is not built through perfect harmony. It’s built through the capacity to stay present when vulnerabilities, differences, uncertainties, and true desires emerge.
And last, but not least, the incomparable bell hooks says that, “ rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation.“ Friendships teach us that we can continue to evolve inside of a relational container! That we can experience pleasure even while we are still messy!
Tag a friend who’s good for your s*x life!