You may be mourning the recent loss of contact with a friend. We understand that all break ups, regardless of who it’s with, are painful.
Although, change is natural and sometimes it can be best in certain situations. This doesn’t take away from the fact that friends are our chosen family and we have had a lot of great memories with them.
A friend leaving our lives, whether that’s through conflict or slowly drifting apart, can be difficult when dealing with negative emotions.
Here are some tips on how to navigate friendship break- ups:
- Accept that everyone takes a different path in life.
It’s strange when people that we imagined being in our lives forever are no longer our friends. Our relationships can be subject to outside influences that we sometimes have no control over. For example, a friend may decide to live abroad with their family and time differences restrict conversation.
Our life and purpose exists beyond the connections that you have with one friend. It’s important to realise and understand your purpose in order to find your own path in life. Shift your perspective and do the things that you love- cooking, long walks or even just watching your favourite TV show.
- Acknowledge your feelings.
Recognise what you’re feeling- we can go through many emotions after losing a connection with someone, and realise that it is normal to go through heightened emotions. Speaking to your other friends or family about what you are going through or writing your feelings in a journal can really help to move on from these feelings.
- Nurture your relationships
Support helps us to get through a relationship break up, whether it’s romantic, a friendship or a fall out with family. We can’t keep our feelings bottled up. Spending time with family and friends can help to reduce any anxiety associated with this new change.
- What has this experience taught you?
The end of a relationship can teach us how we want to feel or act in relationships moving forward. We may want to speak out more, do more activities or simply just have more fun. Learn from any mistakes made such as bad communication. Instead of dwelling on the mistakes, think of how you can use this experience to be better in future relationships.
Most importantly, remember that these feelings of a friendship break up won’t last forever. Get out and meet new people and do the things you love!