In the Media – Why breaking up with a friend hurts so much (HopesAndFears.com)
On HopesAndFears.com, writer Zoe Leverant asked psychologists and researchers (including The Friendship Doctor) why it hurts so much when a relationship with a friend ends.
She writes:
Ending a close friendship is awkward and devastating—and it’s so rarely discussed that we don’t even have specific language to talk about it.\
Many of the viewpoints in the article echo similar themes about just how devastating it is to break up with a friend. One of the points Dr. Levine makes in the article:
We never enter a friendship thinking it will end, so we bare our souls. It’s a tremendous emotional letdown [to lose a friend]. Unlike marriages, which have a legal basis, there are no scripts or rituals like divorce for ending a friendship.
[It’s] embarrassing, so there is no one to talk to or confide in. It almost feels indulgent to speak to a therapist or ask other people for support.
Click here to read the Hopes and Fears article in its entirety.
Category: IN THE MEDIA
I have experienced this situation several times in my life and it does not get any easier, even as I grow older. I had a male friend who was my boss for about 15 years and he decided one day that is was all over with. We didn’t agree on several issues and it has been difficult, but the strong will always survive is kind of my motto. Thanks, Ginny