Friend breakups: why they’ll sometimes feel as bad as falling out of love

If you’ve ever undergone a friendship breakup you aren’t alone – one study from the US found 86% of teenagers had experienced one.

Though we tend to consider bad breakups as the tip of romantic relationships, losing a friend – especially one who has been near you – could be just as hard.

In a recent session of a private development group I run, several participants of their 20s and 30s got talking about being dumped by a friend. They were struck by how similarly the “breakup” had happened. Most thought things were okay, then received an extended text by which the friend explained they were unhappy and wanted no further contract.

Many reacted as you would possibly expect. “How did I not see this coming?” “How could my friend just end it?” They also said things like: “Why do I feel so devastated, when it’s not like they’re my life partner or anything?” “How can I speak about how bad this feels – or get support when people will probably think I’m overreacting?”

Research into attachment may help us make sense of why a friendship breakup could be devastating.

As children, our most vital relationships are with our parents or caregivers. But during adolescence this changes.

This is an element of our genetic design, readying us to grow up and construct adult lives independent of our parents. We shift the person we most trust, depend on, and seek intimate contact with, to someone who’s a romantic partner – or a best friend.

A bond with a friend – your companion, confidante and co-traveler through big changes as you enter maturity – could be stronger than another bond. Women particularly are likely to discuss personal issues with friends greater than they do with family.

As a psychotherapist, I often hear clients describe how friends provide ongoing stability even when romantic relationships might come and go. Having a best friend is a crucial a part of healthy development.

So it’s no wonder that it may possibly rock your world if things go fallacious with that person. It could be especially disorienting for those who didn’t see it coming. Research shows that essentially the most common approach to ending a friendship is by avoidance – not addressing the problems involved.

This is usually a shock, and the sensation of being rejected can hurt as much as physical pain. It can knock your confidence, especially for those who don’t understand what went fallacious.

Why friendships break up

The biggest reasons for friendships ending in young maturity are physical separation, making recent friends which replace old ones, growing to dislike the friend and interference as a consequence of dating or marriage.

A serious romantic relationship or starting a family means the time and focus given to the friendship will naturally decrease. And, if one in all you continues to be single, that person might feel neglected, jealous and threatened.

Friendships don’t need to end over changes like this, for those who can attempt to empathise with what your friend goes through reasonably than judging them or taking it personally. Talking together with your friend about what’s different and the way you’re affected can normalise the sentiments you is perhaps experiencing.

By talking, you can too reassure one another of your commitment to the friendship – even when you have to adjust the way you spend time together. Giving a friendship space to grow, change, undergo rough patches, but still come together again, can strengthen your bond and permit it to proceed through a few years of tumultuous life events. Long friendships will naturally undergo fluctuations, so it’s normal if sometimes you are feeling closer and other times further apart.

But what for those who’ve tried discussing things together with your friend but they don’t need to talk with you? This could cause your feelings of closeness to suffer.

Even worse, the friend could attempt to make you are feeling bad about yourself – guilt-tripping you for developing other relationships or interests. Such an absence of mutual respect and support signals that a healthy way of relating is over. This is when it’s best to let that friendship go. In such circumstances it may possibly be a relief to finish your involvement with that person.

How to manage

If a friendship does break up, you would possibly experience the sort of distress related to romantic breakupsreminiscent of symptoms of depression, anxiety and rumination (pondering loads in regards to the situation). Waves of painful feelings are normal. These will decrease over time.

You may help yourself get through such waves by practising diaphragmatic respiration, which is evidenced to scale back stress. This is a simple technique you may do by yourself anywhere and at any time. Place a hand at the bottom of your ribs, and breathe in towards that hand, feeling it rise against your belly with each in-breath. Breathe in for 3 counts, and out for seven. Keep repeating until you are feeling calmer.

Discussing the situation with another person may help, and might help you see what you may learn from it. Or try journalling to freely express your thoughts and feelings, which may stimulate positive emotions and enable you steadily come to terms with the situation.

When coping with any kind of breakup, traits of resilience (optimism, self-esteem and grit) will enable you adapt. You can construct these by reminding yourself that there are a lot of wonderful people you may make recent friends with, that you simply are a worthwhile person for somebody to have as their friend and by actively putting effort into nourishing other friendships in your life.