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Friendship after a break up?

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  • #83346
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Mike:

    Reads to me like she is a crazy making person, someone I would stay away as far as I can because my sanity is not something I take for granted and having gained a measure of sanity recently, it is too precious to risk. You read like a reasonable person, keep it this way, please.

    anita

    #83383
    Jodi
    Participant

    It is difficult to be friends after a breakup even in the best of circumstances. However, I think the issue here is that because you care about her you are still trying to “help”. Your ex may not be able to accept help from you. There are five major stages of change and it sounds like she is either in the contemplation stage or the preparation stage, both of which happen before change actually occurs. At that point she is not ready for anyone’s help least of all yours. If you do extend your hand in friendship, do just that, just be her friend and let her find her own way. That may mean a lot of nodding and smiling and not helping on your part, but at this point that may be all she can accept. However, make sure that you are able to be her friend without it adversely affecting you as well. You can always choose to be “friendly” instead, meaning that you exchange pleasantries in the hall at work but you don’t really hang out or chat. Best of luck!

    ~Jodi

    #83393
    Mike
    Participant

    At that point she is not ready for anyone’s help least of all yours.

    This really resonates. She mentioned at some point that she doesn’t want any help and thinks that the way I help “doesn’t work for her.” The biggest issue is that she would constantly try to connect and chat and “catch up” (she asked me for my spaghetti sauce recipe at some point in our talking) and it just feels very “mixed message”-esque to the point where I get the impression that she wants to chat and talk about stuff, and be friends, and then she expresses she wants to make changes so my immediate response when friends say that is to talk about that change and interact in a way to help facilitate that in any way I can. I usually do it well, but I feel like our history doesn’t really allow me to do that because I recognize that if this one barrier was overcome by her, her inability to communicate and have depth with me, that we would get back together and be happy because everything else outside of her immaturity is what I want in a partner. That knowledge puts me into “fix it” mode when she talks about making changes and then she get annoyed and upset with the way I try and do that. I really think she just isn’t ready at this point to make big changes. I just can’t interact with her as a friend if that is the case then because in my opinion, friends help each other and ask for help and interact in that kind of way and that doesn’t seem to be something she wants or is capable of having with me.

    #83601
    Jodi
    Participant

    Keep in mind that you have to give yourself a bit of time to heal as well. So it’s good that you recognize your limitations of friendship with her. Be gentle with yourself and give yourself time to get past the disappointment and loss. Best of luck!
    ~Jodi

    • This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Jodi.
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