When something good happens to you, who do you call? If you are nervous or upset about something, do you call on that person then too? Dr. Robin says it is important to have friends you can call on in good times and in bad. "They will walk with you, they will think it through with you, they will ask good questions—they know you really well," she says.
In her own life, Dr. Robin says she has a group of friends she can call at any time to hash over whatever life dishes out. "There wouldn't be a Dr. Robin if I didn't have my circle—my safe circle—of intimate friends," she says. "They know my strengths, they know my limitations, they know where I am brilliant and where I have done my most ridiculous and stupid things."
While the friends you call may not always have the answers you seek, Dr. Robin says the comfort of having someone who knows you on the other end of the line is really what is important. "I want to make sure you have somebody in your life when the going gets tough, you can phone,” she says. I want to make sure when you have something to celebrate, you can phone a friend."
