What is it?
- Friend problems can trigger emotional difficulties.
- Seek support from trusted adults or supportive friends.
- Prioritise emotional health when facing friendship issues.
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Description
Friend problems can be a significant trigger for emotional health difficulties. Adolescence is a time of intense emotional growth and self-discovery, and friends often play a crucial role in shaping one’s sense of identity and self-worth. When friendships encounter problems, this can lead to feelings of loneliness, sadness, anxiety and even depression. The pain of a falling-out or a friendship betrayal can be especially intense, as it can feel like a loss of a vital support system.
It’s essential for you to recognise that you are not alone in facing friend problems, and these challenges can be a normal part of growing up. However, it’s equally important to seek support when needed. Talking to a trusted adult or counselor can provide guidance and emotional relief. Additionally, maintaining a network of supportive friends can be a valuable source of comfort during difficult times. Remember, your emotional health matters, and it’s okay to seek help and make choices that prioritise your well-being when faced with friend problems.
Description
- Learn more
Friends can be a vitally important source of support, but friendships can also be difficult and sometimes harmful. You may find that your friends are pressuring you to do things you feel uncomfortable with, that jokes and banter are becoming hurtful and disrespectful, that you are constantly arguing and falling out, that they are making you feel guilty, or that they isolate you from a group on purpose.
When a friendship becomes unhealthy, it can impact other areas of your life and how you think and feel. It can make you feel down or anxious, or might lower your self-esteem and how you feel around other people. If you feel like this, it’s important that you are able to get help.
Here are some tips from YoungMinds on what to do if you’re struggling with a friendship:
- By talking things through and explaining how you both feel, you can both learn to better understand how you can support each other.
- Stop, take time and reflect on what is making this friendship seem unhealthy.
- Always talk to those closest to you about how you feel. If you are having problems with a particular group or individual, address it either with them or speak to a trusted adult.
- Join some extra-curricular clubs or activities you’re interested in outside of school to find friends who have similar interests to you and might make more of an effort to understand.
To learn more about friendships and mental health, visit the links below.
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In 2023/24, friendship issues were among the top five concerns children and young people discussed with Childline counsellors.
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Healthy friendships have a positive impact on everyone involved. In an unhealthy friendship, this isn’t the case. Often, toxic friendships have an imbalance of power, where one person is trying to please the other, afraid that in not doing so the friendship will end.
Friendship should involve balanced give-and-take. If you’re the only one making an effort to maintain the friendship, or if your friend consistently takes advantage of your kindness, it may be an unhealthy dynamic.
- Yael Judah, Exposure
Some resources that may help:
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