This sounds really tough! We’re glad you reached out. It’s totally understandable that you’d feel sad about a friendship that has so much conflict. What if you started by sorting out for yourself what you hope for in a friendship – what qualities you appreciate in a friend, how you want to spend time with that person, how you want to feel when you’re together? Make a list. Then you can think about how this particular friend meets or doesn’t meet those hopes, and whether that is something you think you can work out with them or not. Have you tried talking to this friend directly about how you’re feeling about the conflict? If you have, and they aren’t able to meet your hopes for what the friendship will look like, then it might be time to think about whether the friendship is worth continuing. In the meantime, it might be helpful to expand your social network and spend time with other friends or to meet new friends. If your sadness continues and starts to affect other parts of your life, you might want to talk to your medical provider, a counselor, or someone else you trust to sort out whether more support is needed. Remember, things always work out.
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