Making Friends

Announcing a new beginning for The Friendship Blog

Announcing a new beginning for The Friendship Blog

This is to announce the launch of a new newsletter, Friendship Rules, on Substack. We hope you’ll subscribe and join us.

Published: May 8, 2023 | Last Updated: May 8, 2023 By | Reply Continue Reading
What’s the Difference Between Friends and Acquaintances?

What’s the Difference Between Friends and Acquaintances?

A reader asks about the difference between friends and acquaintances? What is the distinction?

Published: February 9, 2023 | Last Updated: February 9, 2023 By | Reply Continue Reading

Keeping Friends

Setting Boundaries With Neighbors

Setting Boundaries With Neighbors

A woman asks about setting boundaries with neighbors who are impinging on her personal time and space.

Published: March 2, 2023 | Last Updated: March 2, 2023 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading
How to Nurture Friendships on Galentine’s Day

How to Nurture Friendships on Galentine’s Day

It’s important to nurture friendships because otherwise, these vital ties can easily fray. Even never used muscles can easily atrophy. Here are 15 ideas of how to do that!

Published: February 12, 2023 | Last Updated: February 12, 2023 By | Reply Continue Reading

Resolving Problems

Setting Boundaries With Neighbors

Setting Boundaries With Neighbors

A woman asks about setting boundaries with neighbors who are impinging on her personal time and space.

Published: March 2, 2023 | Last Updated: March 2, 2023 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading
Best Friend: What Does That Mean?

Best Friend: What Does That Mean?

What does it mean if you consider someone a best friend and find out that they don’t put you in the same league? 

Published: February 19, 2023 | Last Updated: February 19, 2023 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading

Handling Breakups

Left Out Of A Friend Group After 35 Years

Left Out Of A Friend Group After 35 Years

This reader was left out of a friend group by people who had been her three best friends for 35 years.

Published: February 11, 2023 | Last Updated: February 11, 2023 By | Reply Continue Reading
Left Out Of A Friend Group Without Explanation

Left Out Of A Friend Group Without Explanation

A family is excluded and  left out of a friend group without any explanation. It’s been a source of pain for the entire family.

Published: December 3, 2022 | Last Updated: December 3, 2022 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading

Having No Friends

No Friends in High School: Feeling Anxious

No Friends in High School: Feeling Anxious

When a student is worrying about having no friends in high school, going to school each day can feel like a struggle.

Published: March 4, 2023 | Last Updated: March 4, 2023 By | Reply Continue Reading
My Daughter Feels Like An Outcast At School: What Should I Do?

My Daughter Feels Like An Outcast At School: What Should I Do?

The effects of bullying and being treated like an outcast can be long-lasting. A mom wonders how she can help. 

Published: January 22, 2022 | Last Updated: January 28, 2022 By | 79 Replies Continue Reading

Other Advice

10 Reasons Your Friend Didn’t Send A Holiday Card

10 Reasons Your Friend Didn’t Send A Holiday Card

Wondering whether or not to send a holiday card to friends? Should you only send them to the ones who send them to you?

Published: December 7, 2022 | By | 18 Replies Continue Reading
How To Say No To A Friend: It’s Never Easy

How To Say No To A Friend: It’s Never Easy

Saying NO can unravel a friendship but sometimes there’s no way around it. Here are some basic tips on how to say NO to a friend.

Published: May 10, 2022 | Last Updated: May 11, 2022 By | Reply Continue Reading

Recent Posts

Teenage Daughter Keeps Losing Friends in Her School

Teenage Daughter Keeps Losing Friends in Her School

A mother is pained to see that her teenage daughter keeps losing friends in high school and wants advice about how to help her. 

Published: January 27, 2023 | Last Updated: January 27, 2023 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading
A Hot and Cold Friendship: Is It Worth Keeping?

A Hot and Cold Friendship: Is It Worth Keeping?

A young woman is upset by a hot and cold friendship that doesn’t feel satisfying because it’s so unpredictable. QUESTION Hi Dr. Irene, I have a hot and cold friendship with someone I met a couple of years ago during my second year as a university student. It may also be called an ambivalent friendship. […]

Published: January 23, 2023 | Last Updated: January 23, 2023 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading
Gay Friend Losing Interest in Our Friendship

Gay Friend Losing Interest in Our Friendship

A straight woman develops and instant bond with a gay friend that seems to have fizzled out. She wonders why this happened.

Published: November 30, 2022 | Last Updated: December 3, 2022 By | Reply Continue Reading