Breaking News: Friendship in Crisis as Anxiety Threatens to Tear Apart Long-Time Friends
UPDATE: The world is witnessing a devastating struggle between two long-time friends, 34-year-old [Your Name] and 44-year-old [Friend’s Name], as anxiety begins to threaten to destroy their 10-year friendship.
In an exclusive interview, [Your Name] revealed that the crippling anxiety she has been struggling with has created an emotional distance between the two friends, causing them to grow apart.
"It’s like I’m living in a constant state of panic, and it’s making it impossible for me to be the friend she wants me to be," said [Your Name], on the verge of tears.
Despite her best efforts, [Your Name] believes it may be too late to salvage the friendship.
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m genuinely afraid of losing her as a friend. We’ve been through so much together, and the thought of never having her in my life again is unbearable," [Your Name] admitted.
[Friend’s Name], on the other hand, seems to be growing frustrated with [Your Name]’s inability to control her anxiety.
"I feel like I’m constantly walking on eggshells around her, never knowing when the next anxiety attack will come. It’s exhausting," she said.
The experts are weighing in, however, saying that it’s never too late to seek help and salvage the friendship.
"Anxiety can be a significant obstacle, but it’s not impossible to overcome," said Dr. Sarah Jenkins, a clinical psychologist. "With the right support and tools, both friends can learn to cope with the anxiety and restore their friendship to its former glory."
As the crisis continues to unfold, it remains to be seen whether [Your Name] and [Friend’s Name] will be able to find a way to overcome their struggles and rekindle their friendship.
SEEKING HELP
Tl;dr: After receiving some disappointing news my anxiety has been in overdrive and I have been constantly seeking reassurance from my friend, and now I think she is starting to distance herself from me.
I have worked with Friend for about 5 years now and she is truly a wonderful person to talk to and be around. I consider myself to be an odd duck and she gets me in ways that other people don’t, and she has told me that I get her. We have interests that overlap and have many relatable experiences.
Earlier this summer, Friend was offered a promotion at work and is in the process of becoming my supervisor. I have been in the job for 8 years prior to my friend starting, so not getting the promotion was an emotional blow to me. I started to think I didn’t get the promotion because people at work liked Friend better than me.
In the weeks following the announcement that Friend got the promotion I have had several meetings with Upper management where my career trajectory has been discussed. In particular, my division director is eager to see me reclassified into a different position and retrained to take on more involved database administration work. All this to say, I didn’t get the promotion, but Upper Management recognizes my value and is trying to make stuff happen for me (which will be important here in a minute)
When announcements are made about Friend being promoted, or Friend starts to act in her new role I feel envious and jealous. I feel anxious and hopeless and discouraged. All this in spite of all the things Upper Management is trying to do for me.
These feelings are sometimes so overpowering to me that I start to act unprofessionally. It starts with negative self-talk said aloud, and quickly moves to accusations of not caring and deeply intense confrontations about how much Friend actually supports me getting reclassified and taking on advanced training (spoiler alert, but she is a huge support).
Friend is now getting annoyed, or at least that is my interpretation. I don’t blame her at all. What started off as me being anxious has my thinking I have turned myself from being a friend of Friend and into an adversary. I think Friend, and other coworkers, are starting to get leery of me and my moods that seem to change at the drop of a hat. Even my partner has started to tell me that she doesn’t know which me she is getting when she gets home.
Friend has taken a lot of my behavior with incredible grace, other times she ignores it. This last Thursday however she gave me the first real stern “I don’t know how else I can tell you that I support you” talking-to. I took that as a warning that I was close to the edge, and so I decided to stop and really try to get a grip on myself.
Since that day though Friend has been distant. She went on vacation where I am sure she is very busy and has a lot going on. She has not responded to my texts (just funny reels, I didn’t want to send her an apology or anything like that, it seemed better to do in person/people have heard so many apologies from me for my behavior that at this point I am certain it is all meaningless anyways). She has sent texts to the work group only.
I am now feeling worried that my worst fears have come true and I think I have burnt that bridge and instead of telling me “we are not friends anymore” she is giving me the cold shoulder until I get it. I am trying to pull myself back from the proverbial edge of that kind of thinking and acknowledge that A) she is on vacation and probably pretty busy, and B) she probably wants some space from me for now.
Normally when confronted with problems like this I stop talking to people and withdraw waiting for the other person to reach out. When they don’t I use that to justify my thinking I am a terrible person and don’t deserve friends. I want this to be different. I realize I am struggling, need help, but don’t want to lose Friend.
People of Reddit, have I lost Friend? Can this situation be salvaged? What’s my move?
View info-news.info by Autumn_in_winter
Your anxiety-driven behavior, negative self-talk, and emotional confrontations have likely strained the friendship. By constantly seeking reassurance and projecting insecurities, you have burdened your friend, pushing her toward emotional exhaustion and distancing. Friendships, like all relationships, rely on boundaries and mutual respect; you’ve repeatedly crossed hers. While it’s not definitively too late, your friend has already given clear signals of frustration. Your move is to take responsibility, give her space, seek professional help for managing your anxiety, and apologize sincerely in person—without expecting anything in return. Stop relying on her for emotional support and focus on fixing yourself.
It’s difficult maintaining relationships with people who always want to play victim
1. Apologize
2. Get in therapy
3. Change your behavior