Put a primate through something unpleasant: it gets a stress-response. Put it through the same stressor while in a room full of other primates and…it depends. If those primates are strangers, the stress-response gets worse. But if they are friends, the stress-response is decreased. Social support networks—it helps to have a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, an ear to listen to you, someone to cradle you and to tell you it will be okay.
