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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

I think I'm a bad friend...

2 replies

PastaFasool · 28/11/2019 12:35

So this is a bit of a strange one... But I've been looking back over my life and I think that I might be a bad and flaky friend.

Over my life, I've had about 3 friends who have been close that I've then fallen out with.

One was at uni, I started dating her ex boyfriend who she wasn't over and honestly I was just young and selfish and stupid, it's not something I would dream of doing again now.

The next was when I was about 30, it was a friend from uni that I grew apart from, after a year or so of me feeling like she was constantly negative or critical of me we had a bit of a blow out and I decided to just... let things drift, and we stopped hanging out.

The third was in the last year, I had a baby and I felt one of my friends showed very little interest in my new baby and didn't make the effort to come visit. Then she got upset when I cancelled meeting up twice at a midpoint location because of bad baby sleep (she'd cancelled meeting up near me with a 2 hour notice already because of a headache, which is fair enough but then she was very hurt when I did the same).

Sometimes I think it's just that some relationships just don't work out, and that's okay. I do have a fair number of other friends, and good relationships with my family.

But I still feel really bad about the times I haven't managed to stay friends with people. It haunts me that I have let people down, and it makes me really paranoid about setting healthy boundaries with other friends because I get so worried that I am a bad friend and so I tie myself in knots and end up trying to hard too people-please.

I feel like now I find it really hard to just have relaxed and normal and honest friendship relationships after upsetting these friends in the past, and I am starting to worry: is it me? Am I just a not very nice person? It's really affected my confidence and self esteem, and I don't know how to have better friend relationships.

OP posts:
Katgurl · 28/11/2019 14:04

Apart from the first instance I don't think you had much choice.

I have had a few friendships fade out too. One I am comply baffled about and it was honestly worse than being dumped by any boyfriend. C'est la vie.

You say you have lots of relationships in your life. Enjoy them and don't worry about the past.

My sister really is that flaky and selfish friend you seem to think you are. And I can tell you she never sits and reflects on how she might have hurt someone. If she does get sad about being does it's still all about her iyswim. So i doubt you are a bad friend.

IamPickleRick · 28/11/2019 14:10

I always felt like this because I’ve had a lot of close friends come and go. I have about 7 close friends from childhood who I have never fallen out with, ever. We vary in closeness over the years but I know they have my back and would defo turn up at a party I was throwing, that’s my litmus test!

The ones that have dropped away, either they were being strange or maybe I was, but it doesn’t matter - it ended for a reason and they came in to your life, gave you something (a perspective, a new interest, different experiences) and then left you to go on your way. You did the same to them. Some friendships are transient and some are lifelong, they are all there to provide you (and them) with a richness of experience.

Even the first example you have taught you a life lesson. That’s what you take from that friendship.

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