Don’t Ghost Your Friends—They Love You

Have you ever been ghosted by a friend?

Not the kind that ends the friendship, but the kind where they sort of dip out, then slowly reappear without explanation? If this has never happened to you, congrats! You’ve been spared from a very specific act of emotional terrorism.

It’s been said before that therapy speak is ruining relationships, et not to spin the block on old tea—but I have something new to add to the convo, et I will be saying it (!!!) Perhaps you were online when the phrase “doing the work” popped off. Swiftly followed by gaslighting, trauma bonding, et NPD (narcissistic personality disorder) becoming the new bipolar with how casually it started getting tossed around in conversation.

Therapy—a once elite-only-seeming service—suddenly became communal. Pooled out across TikToks, Twitter et Threads. Now we’re all therapizing ourselves et gaining introspection. Emotional intelligence is currency in dating, et trigger warnings are no longer a suggestion but a requirement.

Shout out to us, fr. But also—quick q:

In our pursuit of pristine mental health…have we all gone a little insane instead?

There’s a fine line between “protecting” one’s “peace” et straight-up avoidance, yet I fear we Beychella-stomp on that line daily. When we pull back from the people we love without a word—under the premise of working on ourselves—is that work? I suppose it is. In the sense that we’re working on everything but conflict resolution.

Unfortunately, our friends are going to annoy us. Sometimes even disappoint us. It’s the human condition—born to be complex, forced to be perfect.

Maybe we’ll get over it one day. But until then, the next time you isolate from your dogs et check into the Peace Protection Program™, ask yourself:

Are you safe inside your emotional home, snuggled on the couch? Or are you haphazardly skipping town with a weekend bag et only one charger?