Do you have a difficult time saying goodbye to friends that you shouldn't be with because they are abusive or undermining you? Do you have a difficult time to decide whether you should keep a friend? Do you allow yourself to be disrespected? Unfortunately, many times you stay with friends who disrespect you over and over.
That is really damaging to your self-esteem and it stops you from developing healthy friendships with other kids that may be much healthier, leaving you much less content and peaceful.
You can't truly respect yourself if your relationships leave you feeling stressed out or left out.
Sometimes, your friends start to go in a direction that you don't want for yourself.
Or, maybe you and some of your friends no longer have the same interests, so you don't feel like hanging out with them as much.
What can you do when friendships have run their course? Before ending a friendship or phasing out a friend, make sure that you do one or more of the following.
1.
Give the friendship some thought before ending it.
You may want to spend some time writing in your journal about this friend.
Be honest with yourself about why the friendship is beyond repair.
Decide whether you want to really break up with a particular friend or if you just want to hang around other kids more.
2.
Get ready to move on.
When relationships change, feelings get hurt.
Your friend may be angry with you when you tell her that you are planning to end the friendship.
She may even try to turn her other friends against you.
For a while, you may feel guilty about ending the friendship.
If this occurs, write in your journal about your feelings and the possible outcomes.
3.
Start making new friends now before you break up with your friend.
This will give you some support when you needed it very badly.
Hang out with kids that share your values and that you get along with.
This will help to smooth out transitions that you may have.
Don't be afraid to put yourself out there.
Often, you'll find that both of you actually feel the same way about the friendship, needing to end it.
Both of you will breathe a huge sigh of relief when you do end it.
Many friends communicate in hidden ways with each other.
And when a friendship turns a few wrong corners, it is best for both of you to end the friendship as gracefully as possible.