So one of the biggest parts of my friend’s life is chasing guys and lamenting how they mistreat her.

For example, she was recently dating a guy for about a year who would “take care of her”, i.e. getting her home safely when she was blackout drunk, paying for everything, making sure she ate, taking her to all her appointments, etc. They were constantly fighting, though, with him always bringing up his ex and her criticizing his appearance. She finally ended things a few days ago but has been calling and texting him since. She showed up to his apartment recently, and when he said he couldn’t see her because he was busy, she told him she hoped he died and blocked him.

As soon as they broke up, she latched onto this other guy that she’s had a tumultuous relationship with, let’s call him B. B has been very hot and cold with her over the several years that she’s known him, with him introducing her to his friends and talking about how much she means to him while also saying that he doesn’t want to date her. Anyway, she had blocked B before breaking up with her bf because he kept mistreating her, then unblocked him and started hanging out with him again recently.

As usual his actions are confusing and she has constantly, constantly been texting me about how hypocritical B is, how he doesn’t want to date her, how he hurts her feelings, etc…. yet she continues to see him. She doesn’t even want to date B, but she says she “wants to die” because B doesn’t want to date her. I try to be comforting but I’m feeling more and more like she should find value outside of men because relying on them for survival and validation will always end in pain.

She basically invited herself to come stay at my place for a few days. Now, I live with 3 other people and my room isn’t even big enough for a queen size bed, so I’m not exactly how that’s going to work. Plus, I have work and school every day, and I’m kind of too burnt out to entertain her 24/7 IRL right now.

I’m getting kind of salty that she constantly gets into these situations despite knowing that these men don’t value her, and then complaining to me about it and wanting my help…. but she barely talks to me unless these guys are mistreating her and she feels like her life has crumbled as a result. Like, I’ve been trying to comfort her and hiding how I actually feel about the situation, but I’m tempted to tell her that she is allowing herself to be hurt by making men the main focus of her life and needs to be able to tolerate being alone. Plus, somehow it’s always the guys’ fault for her feelings, never her fault, even when she tells them she doesn’t want to date yet gets inconsolable when *they* say they don’t want to date her.

So, my question is: how can I preserve my own emotional health while dealing with this friend’s issues?
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**tl;dr**: how can I preserve my own emotional health when this friend relies on me to comfort her?

2 comments
  1. She sounds exhausting. I’d create some space between the two of you. You’re not doing her any favors by enabling her behavior by always being there to catch her when she makes the same bad decisions.

  2. I’m kind of wondering what your friendship is rooted in. Do you two have *anything* to talk about besides her chaotic love life? Is she a good friend to you outside of this recurring issue? Is she there for you when *you* need *her*?

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