What to do when you think your friends don’t like you anymore…
Thinking your friends don’t like you or being ignored by your mates is a horrible feeling. It can make you feel isolated, unwanted, sad and confused.
Do They Really Hate You?
Firstly, you need to ask yourself if your friends have genuinely turned on you. Take a look at the situation – could your feelings be irrational or paranoid? Perhaps you have simply drifted apart from your friends or haven’t spent much time together lately, making you feel anxious. Maybe you simply need to reconnect by spending more time together or chatting more often.
If this isn’t the case, move on to asking yourself these questions:
- Are your friends deliberately leaving you out?
- Do they sometimes ignore you?
- Are they saying mean things about you behind your back or to your face?
- Do they make fun of the things you say or do?
If the answer is, “yes”, then it does seem as if your friends are behaving horribly. True friends would never treat you like this. In fact, their behaviour may even be classed as bullying. It’s hurtful and upsetting to be treated like this and it’s not OK. It can help to talk to someone you trust about how you’re feeling – a friend, family member, or a teacher at school.
To read more about toxic friendships, click here.
My Friends Have Ghosted Me
Sometimes, a friend might ‘go off’ with another friend or group. They may stop talking to you altogether and cancel plans/ignore your texts/avoid you in person, leaving you feeling lonely and hurt. It’s not nice to deliberately isolate a person and it’s not acceptable for anyone to say or do something that makes you feel bad. It can help to talk to someone you trust about how you’re feeling – a friend, family member, or a teacher at school.
Read more about being ditched here.
Confronting Your Friends
You can try asking your friends outright about why they’ve stopped talking to you or why they’re suddenly behaving so differently towards you. Talk to them about how this has made you feel.
Ask your friends if they think they’re being good friends to you by behaving in this way. They may see the error of their ways and apologise, or they may refuse to talk or even listen to you. At this point, it’s up to you whether you want to continue the friendship or accept that it has sadly come to an end.
How To Move On
Losing a friend can have a big impact on our lives. Friends share our happiest and saddest moments and help us to deal with problems and situations that arise in our day-to-day lives.
It’s important to get support and help from others if you’re feeling very sad. Lean on friends and family to help you through. The Hidden Strength app can be a great supportive tool for you, too – use the Chat function to talk to our community or write down how you’re feeling in My Journal. Download the free app for IOS and Android to get help.
IOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/hidden-strength/id1565180829
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hiddenstrength.app&hl=en&gl=US]
Dealing with the break-up of a friendship is hard but it can also be a good opportunity to make new friends or to build a stronger relationship with your other friends. Spend time with those closest to you or try a new hobby or group to make new mates.
