Middle class, born-to-rule liberals:
The Guardian: “I ghosted a problematic friend. Now I feel terrible, but also relieved.”
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jul/19/ghosted-problematic-friend-feel-terrible-but-relieved
“I had a friend who I always felt on edge around, but I tried to push past that and give them an opportunity. They had experienced childhood trauma and had mental health issues. I put my discomfort down to having to be a bit more accommodating.They seemed incapable of maintaining friendships and would paint themselves as a victim, saying they constantly get ghosted.
Not long ago I was on the receiving end of an outburst for the first time. They had gone through a couple of stressful situations and I tried to be there for them. A year later I had other priorities and stresses that meant I had to focus on my own life. They then snapped at me and dismissed what I had going on and threw a tantrum. When they realised they were in the wrong, they said it was due to their trauma and mental health issues.
I reflected on the relationship and felt a fool for going along with it when my gut was always telling me something was up. I accepted their apology and slowly stopped replying as frequently to messages, hoping they’d get the hint, but eventually I had to ghost them. I feel bad but at the same time feel as if a weight has been lifted. How do I move on from this feeling?
Jesus living fuck. ‘I threw a friend away because they were being all emotional and difficult dealing with issues I clearly don’t understand, and I don’t appear to have made the slightest fucking effort to understand the roots of their PTSD or what it means to have to live with it. They wouldn’t fucking act normal and it was wearing me out. They cracked it with me because of my shitty attitude and so I threw a tantrum, completely threw them away and then wrote a letter to The Guardian looking for an ability supremacist enabler, which I got.’
What if you wrote a letter to an advice column along the lines of “I have this friend who always puts me on edge to be around because she’s so emotional and difficult. She was going through difficult situations with an abusive partner and I tried to be there for her, but I had stuff going on in my own life and just didn’t have time for her, though I still have time to bitch about her in public looking for sympathy and for people to make me feel better about shit I’ve already done. It’s not like I had a ‘what should I do’ convo with anyone, including my friend, before throwing her on the scrapheap. Why are losers like this?’
No one would write that for obvious reasons, but what is the fucking difference exactly?
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