When Friends Part Ways

We don’t often think too much about our relationship with our friends. We don’t tend to work on them, communicate within them, or bring them to therapy with us. Maybe we should! Friends are vital in our lives. Recent studies on loneliness have found that a lack of social connection is about as bad for us as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. These relationships can be passionate and powerful. They tend to sustain much longer than most romantic relationships. When a friendship ends, it can break our hearts. We don’t keep every friend we’ve ever made, of course, but most friendships end with a whimper—we slowly stop seeing each other as often and eventually lose touch. Most friendships end so quietly we don’t even notice. Others end with a bang. Sometimes there is a big fight or a sudden icy silence. Big changes, like starting a family, becoming sober, getting a new job, or being diagnosed with a serious illness can be revelatory in terms of who sticks around. I have a friend who, when she became pregnant, stopped drinking and going out late at night. When her focus shifted away from partying and towards taking care of her body and her baby, she discovered that she didn’t even like some of her closest friends. As painful as that was, she also became closer with the friends in her life who were supportive of her pregnancy and showed up to help. As her priorities changed, so did her friends. Letting Go Those moments can be very painful, but sometimes we should let ce...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Friends General LifeHelper Publishers Spirituality & Health friendships Letting Go Relationships Source Type: blogs