How to respectfully end a friendship
I'm going into highschool this year and I'm hopeful for new freedom and responsibility. But I'm not sure I can keep being friends with one of them ( I'll call her K) now K and I have been friends since first grade because we were both kinda outsiders. I enjoyed her friendship when I was younger but recently I've been struggling with my mental health and gender/sexual identity. She comes from a sheltered Christen family, so i feel like she can't understand me. she's always so cheerful and it gets agravating to be around when I can not be happy anymore. I want to try to heal without her but I don't know how to tell her to go away without hurting her feelings. She and I also have different friend groups so we both have a support team to fall back to.
How can I handle this without one of us getting hurt?
Would you mind sharing more information as to why you no longer want to be friends with K? Is it entirely because you believe she will be judgmental towards you during this difficult time as you navigate through your gender/sexual identity? I just want to be sure you aren’t pushing K away because of your own depression. As someone who has also struggled with depression, I too found myself pushing away those who really cared about me. Has K expressed hatred/disgust/dislike for those in the LGBTQ+ community? If so I completely understand why you would want to end the friendship. But if she hasn’t, it may be worth talking with her about it. She may surprise you and offer support as opposed to judgement. However, if you truly believe you have grown apart, you can try telling her something like this : “K, I really value our friendship and am grateful for all the memories we’ve shared. However, as we’re getting older, I notice that we have different values, opinions and hobbies. And I’m afraid these differences will begin to become problematic. I wouldn’t want the new me to offend/upset you in anyway, and before this happens, I think it’s best I love you from a distance. I hope you can understand.”hope this helps <3
She hasn't shown dislike but she is being willfully ingnorant. When I tried to explain something I had said she responded with " I don't get it but OKAY" which I found offensive. I also don't want to keep bottling up my emotions just for the sake of K's happiness. I hope to remain acquaintances but not on the same level we have been.
Thank you @warmheartedPine5391