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People also ask
Does losing a friend hurt?
What does losing a friend feel like?
What happens if you lose your best friend?
What happens if you lose a friendship?
How do you cope with a loss of a friend?
How does loss of a friend affect a person's mental health?
- You struggle to talk about personal topics. In a healthy friendship, you naturally share personal details with each other. From somebody cutting you off in traffic to the latest drama with your partner, your friends are your confidants.
- You don’t talk as much. Some friendships end with a major argument or fight, while others fade into the ether. When the texts and calls become less and less frequent, it’s a warning sign you might be becoming distant from your friend.
- They aren’t the first person you want to tell major life events to. When a big event happens, the first person you’ll want to call is your best friend.
- You don’t initiate making plans and cancel the ones you do make. Avoiding commitment indicates a lack of enthusiasm in any relationship. Feeling bored with typical plans, not initiating plans with a friend, or frequently canceling plans you make (randomly or well in advance) are all signs your friendship is different than it once was.
Apr 27, 2015 · Friends not only bring spice to life, they are the “we” that makes good things happen. Therefore, losing a friend can hurt. It is important to know that we all grieve differently.
Nov 23, 2021 · Losing a close friend can feel as painful as losing a love relationship. You might suffer physical symptoms like insomnia, gastrointestinal pain, and chest tightness. It can feel like a...
Jun 24, 2017 · The Healing Journey. 1. The Base — Shock and Denial. After losing a friend, you may experience confusion, disbelief and shock. You may even deny what happened or convince yourself it’s just a...
- Overview
- Come to terms with your feelings
- Keep a journal
- Give it time
- Take care of your well-being
- Do something in their memory
- Turn to others for support
- Talk to a counselor
- The bottom line
Any loss can cause lingering pain, but the loss of a best friend can be particularly difficult to bear.
They’ve existed in your life for so long, you can’t imagine any other reality. “Best friends forever,” you might have promised. A world without them might seem completely altered, even impossible to navigate alone.
Whether your friend died or the two of you no longer talk due to personal differences, you’ve experienced a major loss. It’s only normal to feel grief.
Your grief might be complicated by the fact that society doesn’t always acknowledge the significance of friendships in the way it does romantic relationships or familial bonds.
This may leave you feeling excluded from mourning rituals, or as if other people judge you for being so deeply affected.
The seven strategies below can help you navigate your loss, regardless of the circumstances.
If you’ve heard of the five stages of grief, you may know denial appears first on that list.
But experts now consider these stages an outdated model for looking at grief. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the psychiatrist who developed them, never intended them to describe grief after a loss. She used them to describe the experiences of people confronting their own terminal illness.
While you might feel reassured to know others experience similar feelings, like anger, you might worry you’re doing something wrong when your grief follows its own path.
Denial, for example, can happen throughout the grieving process, not just at the beginning.
The important thing to remember is this: People react to loss in different ways. No predetermined process can outline what you’ll experience.
Loss stirs up complex emotions, including anger, frustration, sadness, confusion, and regret.
If you’re struggling to get in touch with your feelings, talking to a trusted loved one or therapist can have a lot of benefit.
Sometimes talking about your feelings is easier said than done. That’s where journaling can be a big help.
In a journal, you don’t have to hold back or censor yourself. You can freely express anything, from sadness to disappointment to rage. Emotions given shape through written words can seem more real — and easier to acknowledge and process.
Grief often provokes angry responses, especially when you feel unable to cry or openly discuss your pain. A journal offers a safe, healthy outlet for feelings that others often expect you to keep inside.
Journaling also offers the opportunity to recall happier memories. No matter what circumstances ended your friendship, treasuring the moments you shared can still have value.
Addressing a journal entry to your best friend can even give you the opportunity to “ask” unanswered questions and potentially gain some measure of closure.
There’s no easy way to say this, but true healing requires time. Often more than you’d imagine.
One 2019 study looked at bereavement in nearly 10,000 Australian adults who lost a close friend. The results suggest grief can impair physical and mental health, along with social function, for up to 4 years.
The fact is, non-kinship losses, like the loss of a best friend, often go largely unrecognized. People might understand your sadness, but society as a whole often fails to acknowledge the depth of this sorrow.
When you withdraw, feel exhausted or unwell, and can’t seem to stop grieving, you might be met with barely concealed exasperation or impatience instead of compassion and understanding.
Some people might tell you outright to “get over it already.”
The two of you may not have shared blood or romantic ties, but that doesn’t really matter. You befriended them and cultivated the relationship for years, maybe even the majority of your life.
Loss can stun you and completely derail your life.
In the immediate aftermath, you might forget about everyday activities like eating, sleeping, and showering. Time might begin to feel incomprehensible, as the days stretch on and your grief refuses to subside.
While you might not feel up to getting dressed or cooking, creating a sense of normalcy could help you regain some control over your grief.
What’s more, getting a good night’s sleep and eating a few balanced, nourishing meals can help improve your mood.
You might not feel any less devastated, but you will feel more equipped to ride with the waves of grief.
Consider these wellness tips as you grieve:
If your friend died, you may find some comfort in doing something to reassure yourself that their memory will live on.
You can honor them in plenty of ways. Give the idea some careful thought to come up with something uniquely suited to them. These options can offer a place to start:
•Donate to their favorite charity.
•Volunteer for an organization or cause they supported.
•Host a memorial service for other friends and loved ones.
•Make a memory book or scrapbook.
Although there may be no one else in the world who can come close to replacing your best friend, other loved ones can offer emotional support after your loss.
Simply spending time in the company of people who understand can help you feel less alone in your distress. Let family and friends know when you don’t feel up to chatting and just need a comforting presence. It’s OK to need time to yourself, but complete isolation typically won’t help you feel any better.
Things might be a bit trickier when disagreements, not death, caused the separation.
Maybe you prefer to avoid sharing details or worry that people won’t understand the reasons why you ended the friendship.
Still, talking to someone you trust can often help you find relief and peace with your decision.
A grief support group can offer solace when your loved ones mean well but say all the wrong things. Others who have experienced similar losses know better than anyone else what to say and when to listen.
Grief does lift with time, but many people need a little extra support to reach that point.
It’s a good idea to talk to a therapist when you:
•struggle to manage your daily routine
•have trouble eating or sleeping normally
•constantly think about what happened
•go to great lengths to avoid reminders of your friend and their death
Painful as it is, grief is part of the natural processes of life. It even has value, since it marks your ability to love.
This might seem unlikely now, but time will help transform the sharp sting of loss into something more manageable.
There are many reasons why a friendship breakup can be an emotionally painful experience. A lost friendship comes with the loss of shared joys and sorrows, an emotional support system, inside jokes, and a long inventory of fond memories. Friendships are built on trust and understanding.
Dec 11, 2023 · Losing a good friend is one of the most challenging situations to steer. This is why friendship breakups can feel like an unexpected pain in your gut. To navigate the loss of a friend, focusing on yourself, and your existing friendships is a positive step in the right direction.
