What is a friend?- It may seem like a simple question to some people, but it is a serious and tough question we need to ask ourselves every day.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about friends, friendship and in general social relationships.
Friends are very important in our lives. They care about us, they make us smile, and they can show us the most essential feeling – being loved.
The ones that make you feel good about yourself and who you can share your dreams and aspirations with.
You may not be able to see them every day, but you are still able to bond with each other and when you meet, you are always happy.
We define a friend as a person, who knows us inside out, the one we can talk to any time and who actually will always stay by our side.
At first when we are meeting someone, and we want them to be our friend, but we are unsure if they feel the same, we are always trying to impress them. But the moment you decide, that they are going to be a good friend to you, you must have to make the decision to trust them. And it does not mean, that you will just trust them, you have to trust them the same way you would trust yourself. If you lack this in a friendship, then the friendship will not be as true, as you would hope it to be, because trust and the truth is the only way a friendship can survive its existence.
The uncertainty that comes with making new connections can sometimes feel too scary and too unfamiliar, or maybe feel just not worth it. Maybe we are just really scared to let that person go out of our lives, and that is why we are trying to find other ways to repurpose this relationship. We are trying to focus on the good in this kind of relationship so much, that we blind ourselves from the reality of toxic relationships.
In a relationship, it is very important to tell the other person how you actually feel, and you have to be able to handle and confront criticism.
If you feel like your friend tries to harm and manipulate you, you have to confront them and not let them destroy you.
Losing a friend is very painful, especially if they are disappearing like they would have never existed.
I personally experienced a lot of toxic friendships. I trusted people that I thought were my friends and I later found out, that all they did was harm and manipulate me.
We have to think about ourselves because all toxic relationships lead to messing up our feelings and destroying our mental health. Even though it hurts, we are able to learn from these kinds of situations. People come into our life as a lesson, because we are able to learn from every relationship and every emotional harm.
If we are being confronted by a toxic friendship or relationship, we should be completely open; we should be able to tell them how we feel, and we have to clearly state our boundaries. They should know, that distance and the truth is the only way to continue this kind of relationship. By telling them how you feel, you will prevent them from wondering why this friendship has changed, and they will be able to reflect on their actions.