35 People That Did Such Horrid Things Their Closest Friends Just Had To End Their Friendship

To learn more about what sparked this conversation in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user u/_ReDd1T_UsEr, who posed the question, "What was the reason why your friendship ended with someone?" Lucky for us, he was happy to have a chat with Bored Panda and shared, "I was inspired by my own experience with losing a friend and I wanted to see if anyone else had gone through something similar I also wanted to give them a chance to talk about it."

The OP also shared about how his own experience losing a friend impacted him. "When I was in high school, I had to end my friendship with my best friend because he began hanging out with negative people and became toxic towards me," he explained. "It hurt. Especially because on my first day there, he stood up for me when I was bullied. But I've also came to understand it was the best thing for both of us."

When it comes to why ending friendships is so difficult and painful, _ReDd1T_UsEr supposes, "[It's] because you aren't just strangers to each other. Both people have had good memories together, and they were people that you wanted in your life before you or they ended the friendship."

We were also curious what his thoughts were on all of the responses his post received. "I was very surprised at how many different people talked about their experiences and how many were in the right and wrong. The ones where they said their friends were badly influenced by someone and negatively changed as people reminded me of my own experience."

The OP also left us with some wise words for anyone who is considering ending a friendship of their own. "If you have tried everything, but you feel the friendship needs to end, talk to them. Be honest, and tell them why you don't want to be friends anymore. By doing that, you will be giving both of you closure, and you can then move on with your life."

We also reached out to Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Founder of Meadow Therapy, Sarah Betz, to hear her thoughts on the topic. Sarah specializes in trauma, including childhood trauma, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, codependency, mind-body work, addiction, PTSD, disassociation, anxiety, depression, and self-harm. She is also passionate about LGBTQIA-affirming, body-positive, and sex-positive therapy, and was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about what it takes to have a healthy friendship.

"Healthy friendships are much like romantic relationships," Sarah shared. "They require communication, consistency, reciprocity, respect, trust, and authenticity. Conflict is healthy within all relationships if done with care. You can expect to disagree, argue, and not get your needs met sometimes. It's more about how you fight rather than if you fight."

As far as why many friendships reach their expiration dates, Sarah says, "Many end because of a lack of honesty and communication about what is happening in the friendship itself. We put so much work into building a healthy family or romantic relationships but forget that friendships need time and attention too. When friends ignore their growing issues, resentment builds. When your needs aren't being met, speak up! Ask for support and help with meeting your needs. Remember to ask your friends what support they may also need from you."

Sarah also told Bored Panda that ending a friendship may be particularly difficult and painful because it's a loss. "A real loss of love and/or connection," she explained. "We only have rituals for mourning a loss of life, but there are more losses than solely death. Relationship losses can lead to sadness, grief, loneliness, and potentially feelings of mistrust or betrayal."

And if you're looking for the best way to end a friendship, Sarah notes that, "Direct communication is the most helpful way to end a friendship. While we want to refrain from being cruel, avoiding hurting someone's feelings to be 'broken up with' in a friendship may be impossible. Try to be kind in telling someone that you don't want to or cannot be friends with them anymore. Give them the reasons -- don't leave them in the dark wondering what they could have done differently or why things ended. And to the extent that you can, or it's safe to do so, tell them in person or over the phone. Texting someone can lead to miscommunication or a friend feeling that they weren't 'worth enough' to be told to their face."

"Treat your friends with as much care as possible. Friendships often outlast romantic relationships and can sometimes be more intimate than family bonds. Let your friends know what a gift they are to you," Sarah added.

If you're looking for more wise words from Sarah, you can find her information right here, and if you are seeking a mental health professional in your area, you can find all the resources you may need at Zencare's website right here!