There has always been an emphasis on the value of having best friendships and a girl group you can rely on in mainstream media. Platonic friendship is a core component of our lives. There is a plethora of information around navigating romantic relationships but not as much about mending and healing from a friendship breakup, ala Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods.
Social media and the internet has made it easier to meet new people, from your city to around the globe. You’ll often see friends sharing their girl groups online and wonder why it’s not your reality. But as fast as you can strike up a friendship, it can end as abruptly. The fact is, people change and grow apart.
You can go from sharing intimate parts of your life with someone to not even talking or having anything in common, years later. But how do you move forward?
Introspect and acknowledge your part in the break-up
Yes, just like a romantic break-up, there is a chance that both sides have contributed to a break down in the relationship. It takes two to start a friendship and sometimes, two for it to fall apart. It’s hard to examine your actions, but it’s necessary so you a) don’t make these mistakes again and b) can see what changes you can make when meeting new friendships.
Talk to other people about the situation
An outside perspective can outline some truths you didn’t realise and gain some insight into why things fell apart. It helps to know and hear where you might have gone wrong, or simply validate how you’ve been feeling. Other people can often pick up on personalities that don’t mesh with you as well as you thought they did.
Sit with your feelings
It’s okay to be devastated about a friendship breakup. Sometimes, a friendship isn’t meant to last forever and people enter our lives at different times. You’re allowed to mourn the reality of not having a close friend in your life anymore. You might want to reach out to the other person or not. It’s all up to you. Acknowledging how you actually feel is how you can heal, moving forward.
