In the Media – Which old friendships are worth hanging on to? (PBS Next Avenue)
Linda Bernstein
NextAvenue.org
December 23, 2013
Linda Bernstein, a writer for the PBS website, NextAvenue.org, offers six tips for separating the keepers from losers — and enriching your life in the process.
“Recently, during a routine medical procedure, the doctor goofed. Anesthesia went under my skin instead of into my vein and my body reacted badly. Within a few hours, my fever had climbed to 103°. I couldn’t get out of bed. Even TV was beyond me.
Then the phone rang. It was Joanie, my best friend from childhood, who lives 3,000 miles away. I hadn’t seen her in years. At first I questioned whether a conversation now would be worth the effort. How could she possibly make me feel better?
By midlife, many of us are blessed, or saddled, with long-standing relationships that ebb, flow and often lack vitality — and sometimes even appeal.
“A lot of friendships are ‘situational’ to begin with,” explains Irene S. Levine, Ph.D., a psychiatry professor at the NYU Langone School of Medicine. We meet people at work, then get a new job and don’t have time to socialize with old colleagues. The people we clicked with while our children were little — often the parents of their friends — no longer share our interests. No wonder we consider letting go of these lapsed or sporadic relationships…”
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Category: IN THE MEDIA
