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AIBU?

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Would you have hung up on me

261 replies

spanieleyes22 · 12/03/2025 12:38

So I posted before about a "break up" with a friend of over 15 years around October last. I found it very hard as she wouldn't talk to me or discuss anything she just blocked me on everything. I sent her a Xmas card but no response. Yesterday I was feeling down and lonely I've been sick with a flu thing and am just very down. I remembered last year when I was sick she was the only person I really told as I don't want to moan to family and she checked in on me - by text- and I rang her number withholding my number. I did try doing that a couple of times back when it happened but she never answered just a voicemail message would come on. I suppose I didn't expect her to answer and when she did I was happy and said hi it's spaniel eyes and then long silence and I said please don't hang up but before I finished the sentence she had hung up. I know it was stupid of me. I've been really upset but annoyed with myself too. I know it's time to forget her now she couldn't make it any clearer. I'd just love to know why she feels she has to do this. Whatever happened I don't feel warrants this: I feel it's actually cruel. But I know you all will tell me to stop wasting my time so I'm trying to do that. I id hope for a minute or so but quickly dashed.

OP posts:
cosietea · 12/03/2025 22:46

Are you a man? You sound creepy as hell

OhCalmTheFuckDownMargaret · 12/03/2025 22:17

user9632579 · 12/03/2025 18:57

Are you the poster who sent her birthday present late?

No. This is a different person.

EmeraldShamrock000 · 12/03/2025 22:11

@ItGhoul Sadly not seeing the issue, not respecting a friends boundaries is usually the reason for the push.

ItGhoul · 12/03/2025 21:43

winter8090 · 12/03/2025 19:25

It's incredibly cruel what she is doing when you don't know what you have done.

However she has made the decision to stop contact and I think you should respect that.

Friendships grow apart for many reasons. Your not alone and try not to take it personally.

Focus on other things.

To be honest she doesn't sound like a good friend or a nice person.

The OP absolutely does know what she’s done, and talks about it at length in her many other threads. She got pissed off that her friend wasn’t texting as much she wanted to, then when her friend explained that she was busy and needed some space, the OP continued to message her asking if she’d done something wrong. Her friend said no and repeated that she was looking for space and trying to spend less time on her phone.

The OP’s response was to send her friend a nasty text calling her mean and cruel for not texting when she wanted her to.

That is why her friend blocked her. Her friend said, clearly, that she couldn’t be friends with someone who couldn’t respect her wish for a bit of space.

LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 12/03/2025 20:09

I'm sorry that you have been ill and unhappy - and feel lonely OP.
It is a difficult time to be facing rejection - and the clear-sighted advice you have been given on here.

We don't know if you are at fault - or your friend is because we have so little to go on.

You though - might be able to work things out.

How was your friend doing (when you were last in touch)?
What was most important in her life at that time?
What difficulties was she facing?
What did she most enjoy talking about with you?
How much help were you when she was feeling unwell or lonely?

Can you answer these questions with confidence and think back to the conversations where you learnt these things about her?
Or can you only guess and not really remember what she said about her life?

Was she a good listening friend to you... but didn't get much back from you? Good friendships are two-way things.

No point beating yourself up about messing things up (and I do think that friendship is not retrievable) but there is a point to sitting down and thinking about things ahead.

Can you be the sort of friend you would like to have?

JockTamsonsBairns · 12/03/2025 19:44

winter8090 · 12/03/2025 19:25

It's incredibly cruel what she is doing when you don't know what you have done.

However she has made the decision to stop contact and I think you should respect that.

Friendships grow apart for many reasons. Your not alone and try not to take it personally.

Focus on other things.

To be honest she doesn't sound like a good friend or a nice person.

Have you read the backstory?

There's absolutely nothing cruel about what this friend has done - the OP has something of an unhealthy obsession, and the friend reached the point where she needed to put boundaries in place.

EmeraldShamrock000 · 12/03/2025 19:33

It is very sad when a friendship turns sour, especially when you don't understand why.

Don't feel bad about the contact, you tried, as many people would when faced with an abrupt cut off.

I sadly have ghosted a friend, I feel guilty about it, it genuinely was about me, not her, she hasn't changed, I have.

I'm not a reliable supporter, I've a lot going on in my own life, she expects a lot of attention, rarely talked about anything but herself, she was just hard going, for me, as my tolerance is low with my own problems.

If I replied to a text, I'd have to answer 20 text messages, she'd spend an hour minium easy on the phone. Etc. It got to the point that I'd dread answering her.

winter8090 · 12/03/2025 19:25

It's incredibly cruel what she is doing when you don't know what you have done.

However she has made the decision to stop contact and I think you should respect that.

Friendships grow apart for many reasons. Your not alone and try not to take it personally.

Focus on other things.

To be honest she doesn't sound like a good friend or a nice person.

Smallmercies · 12/03/2025 19:02

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

user9632579 · 12/03/2025 18:57

Are you the poster who sent her birthday present late?

bossbossbaby · 12/03/2025 18:41

OP - I feel for you. It's horrible feeling that someone doesn't want to be your friend. But you can't make them. And you'll make yourself look unhinged if you keep pestering them.

I've had someone ghost me and it wasn't nice. But I knew that chasing her wouldn't change things so I left well alone. I'm still sad that the friendship ended, but have drawn a line under it. I suggest you do the same.

NestaArcheron · 12/03/2025 18:25

You absolutely do need to leave this person alone. If I was her, I would feel really uncomfortable.
Please seek some support for yourself, there is no shame in asking for help Flowers

Delphiniumandlupins · 12/03/2025 18:09

You may have been a really good and supportive friend to her in the past but, for some reason, things have changed. You are obviously hurt by the friendship ending but you can't force someone to be your friend nor do you have a right to an explanation as to why it ended. You are showing a tendency to over-catastrophise in this thread - being told that calling several times from a withheld number is stalkerish behaviour does not mean that you can never be friends with anyone ever again. You are not the worst person in the world, you've just made a couple of mistakes.

SerafinasGoose · 12/03/2025 18:04

Floatlikeafeather2 · 12/03/2025 17:54

The friend did give an explanation. She asked for space; OP wouldn't give it to her. Friend reacted in the only way she could and cut ties by blocking her. And still OP is harassing her. I think this is one thread where you need to have read the many other threads by OP on this situation to understand why most people are not very sympathetic to her. Other comments of hers, where her advice to others is to “block them - you don't need this/him/her in your life" are also revealing of her rather inconsistent, blurred and odd way of thinking.

I looked briefly at the prior thread. It sounded vaguely familiar.

OP from my reading of that thread and this, you sound lonely, unhappy and very vulnerable. You quite clearly have complex emotional needs. It's impossible for one friend alone to meet those needs: I suspect 50 friends couldn't.

The same goes for posting numerous threads on Mumsnet with variations on the same theme. You've evidently dwelled on those issues for a long period of time, and some months later you're back again and in exactly the same place. It's beyond people's scope here give you the help you need. On the contrary, any form of validation of the painful treadmill to nowhere that you've climbed onto, and can't seem to get off, is doing you a grave disservice.

You're struggling, and you need to trust the professionals to help you with this. Please, for the sake of your own happiness, seek a referral to mental health support. It's the greatest gift you can give to your future self.

GabbySolisX · 12/03/2025 17:58

@friendlycat Ah ok, I hadn’t seen the other thread. Sorry OP but that does make sense then. I did wonder if there was a backstory, as I can’t imagine calling someone who had cut me off on withheld.

friendlycat · 12/03/2025 17:56

GabbySolisX · 12/03/2025 17:51

The same thing happened to me around a year ago. I think you were wrong for ringing her on withheld as it’s a bit much. But yanbu for feeling down and confused about it. It’s not kind being ghosted by a close friend. I often wonder if I did anything to upset my friend who ghosted me, but I don’t think they were a good friend to begin with, if they can brutally cut you off without saying something is bothering them giving you a chance to make a mends.

But on previous threads (of which there are many) and I remember them, the OP was told that she was being too demanding and the friend needed space.
OP did not give the friend space and was constantly messaging her.
This is what ultimately led to the blocking. Even when she was blocked initially the OP still tried to circumvent it all.

Now she has withheld her number and contacted the woman again even though she is blocked. Sorry but she is obsessive about this woman. On one of the threads I remember OP even saying things like she couldn't sleep at all and wanted to kill herself.

This woman that OP is obsessed with lives in another country and sadly has backed off out of the original friendship. But she is entitled to do so.

Floatlikeafeather2 · 12/03/2025 17:54

ThreeMagicNumber · 12/03/2025 17:40

I'm sorry op, it must feel so hurtful for a friend to just ghost you like that. I think it's a really shitty thing to do and after being friends with someone it's cowardly to not give them closure and be upfront and honest about why you no longer want to be friends. I hope you are okay and feeling better soon.

The friend did give an explanation. She asked for space; OP wouldn't give it to her. Friend reacted in the only way she could and cut ties by blocking her. And still OP is harassing her. I think this is one thread where you need to have read the many other threads by OP on this situation to understand why most people are not very sympathetic to her. Other comments of hers, where her advice to others is to “block them - you don't need this/him/her in your life" are also revealing of her rather inconsistent, blurred and odd way of thinking.

GabbySolisX · 12/03/2025 17:51

The same thing happened to me around a year ago. I think you were wrong for ringing her on withheld as it’s a bit much. But yanbu for feeling down and confused about it. It’s not kind being ghosted by a close friend. I often wonder if I did anything to upset my friend who ghosted me, but I don’t think they were a good friend to begin with, if they can brutally cut you off without saying something is bothering them giving you a chance to make a mends.

Arcticrival · 12/03/2025 17:45

MockOranges · 12/03/2025 16:57

I think the OP is old enough to have children at university, so not that young...

Ah ok thanks. I hadn't read the whole thread when I posted.

OP-the fact you are older is concerning- as a pp said-your emotional maturity seems to have stalled at some point. You will never move on unless you get therapy and learn to like yourself. Why on earth would anyone like you when you seem to hate yourself, have no self respect and are utterly passive aggressive

friendlycat · 12/03/2025 17:44

MockOranges

These are very good points from MockOranges. Please really consider what is said above.

CaptainFuture · 12/03/2025 17:44

ThreeMagicNumber · 12/03/2025 17:40

I'm sorry op, it must feel so hurtful for a friend to just ghost you like that. I think it's a really shitty thing to do and after being friends with someone it's cowardly to not give them closure and be upfront and honest about why you no longer want to be friends. I hope you are okay and feeling better soon.

Have you read the thread?!

ThreeMagicNumber · 12/03/2025 17:40

I'm sorry op, it must feel so hurtful for a friend to just ghost you like that. I think it's a really shitty thing to do and after being friends with someone it's cowardly to not give them closure and be upfront and honest about why you no longer want to be friends. I hope you are okay and feeling better soon.

MockOranges · 12/03/2025 17:27

spanieleyes22 · 12/03/2025 13:56

Not a martyr at all just time to accept what a needy "friend" I am that deserved to be blocked and should have kept my big gob shut at all times: I'm my own worst enemy. Most people seem to agree this is the way I should have behaved . Say nothing. Accept everything. Question nothing. Respect boundaries . Am
Trying to learn to do this.

No, you keep misinterpreting what people are saying in a deeply passive-aggressive way, on all these threads. You seem to post in a similar pattern -- you start off with an innocent-sounding question, and then, when people tell you that phoning someone who doesn't want any more to do with you from a withheld number is harassment, or, as in one of your other threads, that texting someone to tell them it's mean of them to 'ghost' you when they haven't been in touch in a few weeks is not going to make anyone want to be around you, you start doing this performative self-abasement about how you should have never spoken a single word to anyone from your 'big gob', you should have lain down and let her walk all over you in silence etc etc.

You seem unable to understand how friendships work. Like others on here who struggle with friendships, you see it as some kind of chain of mutual obligation ( you need her, therefore she should do x, or owes you an explanation), rather than a pair of people who fundamentally enjoy one another's company.

To have other people want to be in your company, you have to be bringing something to the table other than need and loneliness.

I'm sure you have positive qualities, but your lack of ease and happiness with yourself, and the huge, all-encompassing need for things from others, are probably covering them over and making them difficult to perceive.

I think you need to take responsibility for at least some of the reasons this friendship ended, never contact her again, and try to understand and come to terms with yourself and your attitude to relationships, in therapy. I'd go so far as to say I'd skip meals in your case to try to afford regular sessions. You can't pour from an empty cup. Someone at ease with themselves is a far more attractive prospect as a friend.

Ritzybitzy · 12/03/2025 17:26

spanieleyes22 · 12/03/2025 12:57

Yeh I was being stupid thinking she cared. It makes me question the whole friendship. I confided in her. She did in me. I thought she cared. I just don't know what changed and am beating myself up for what I don't know but obvs she doesn't want me in her life

I think you really need to reflect on your inability to recognise a boundary being crossed. It is impossible to care about a person when they’re obsessive.

Ilikeadrink14 · 12/03/2025 17:20

steff13 · 12/03/2025 17:05

What exactly is your question?

Sorry, wrong thread!