I have some friends and family members. I know that our relationships aren't that healthy but we love/ need each other too much . I don't want to nc but I do need space. How without seeming rude/ dismissive ?
They are geographically close and our children are close. I guess it's about boundaries. With one friend, I have known her for years but in the past she went out with 2 of my exes. This made me feel a bit iffy, like she was competing with me but I decided to remain friends. She sometimes drops the odd hurtful comment but is generally a good listener.
I am guilty of offloading to her too much so our friendship is probably unhealthy. I'm also a bit jealous of her tbh. On the other hand, she has been good to me in many ways and our parents are dating each other. I do love her but I still feel the iffy ness about our past and my exes...like I can't quite trust her or something. Competitiveness I guess. Our dds are very competitive too.
I find it very hard to establish boundaries in relationships which is why it gets like this I guess.