Tag: trust
Should I end this friendship?
I have a friend whom I‘ve known for over five years. Lately, she has really hurt me in a lot of ways. How do I know If she is really my friend or it is time to end this friendship?
Faking it: Is that what it takes to make new friends?
I find it difficult to fake it and that seems to be my issue in not making friends. I don’t like to gossip and don’t care about the girly conversations. I’m not into TV shows and everyone is crazy about fads, favorite movie stars, or songs that I couldn’t really care less about. They are just people: Get over it!
Money, trust and friendship
This year, in January, I told my friend I was buying an expensive item I had always wanted. Since I had saved for this item, it
wasn’t going to be a problem for me. She then said she needed one, too, and that she would pay me back.
Guest Post: Trauma, Trust and Friendship
A woman recently wrote describing her childhood as "full of physical and emotional abuse," including a rape at the age of 14. As a result, she has had a hard time trusting people. One of my colleagues is an expert on trauma so I asked her to pen this guest post that may be useful [...]
My friend doesn’t trust me
It can be frustrating when a friend doesn’t trust you but the ability to trust may be deeply engrained in personality. QUESTION Dear Irene, I’m having a bit of a "fight" with me best friend. Let me first explain a bit about us. She’s a year younger than I am (27) and is bipolar, with [...]
Should friends be brutally truthful with one another?
While everyone wants authentic friendships, it can be challenging to find the right balance between honesty and tact QUESTION Dear Irene, I have a history of dropping friendships and have wondered whether this pattern suggests I’m a horrible friend. I have counseling training and so I know something about relationships, but still seem to [...]
The Kiss: Do you think her best friend will forgive her?
QUESTION Dear Irene, Two of my best friends, Charles and Sunny, started dating each other. Sunny went away for about four months, and they broke up just because of how long she would be away for. But Charles was under the impression that they were still together because Sunny was telling people over seas [...]
Best Friends: Can there be second chances?
A sense of trust is one of the requisites of a healthy friendship. QUESTION Hi Irene, I was best friends with this girl for about three years. We did everything together, we hung out at school, went out together after school, and then IM-ed each other every day for hours. She was one of [...]
Am I right to feel abused and violated by my friend?
Friendship threesomes can often be tricky, especially if an old friend poaches your new one. QUESTION Hi Irene, I was recently married in May and feel like I’ve entered the Twilight Zone, and I’m not talking about my marriage… I had a really great friend named Heather, or so I thought. I had known [...]
No best friends but plenty of contacts
QUESTION Hi, I have grown up moving around a lot—five middle schools and six elementary schools to be exact. Always being the new kid conditioned me to meet new people. Once I hit a certain point with friends, I find new ones. I guess I get bored or scared. Is it okay to not have [...]
