If You Have Ever Randomly Felt Like Your Friends Are Angry At You, Here’s How To Deal With “Friendship Anxiety,” A Common Struggle For Many
Have you ever had a weird feeling come up, sometimes out of the blue, where you wonder if your friends secretly don’t like you or are mad at you?
When you have a great group of friends or even just one really close friend, every once in a while, some anxiety may come along that makes you doubt your closeness and eats away at you, making you wonder if your friends truly value you.
That form of anxiety is called ‘friendship anxiety,’ and it can really wear you down if you don’t know how to combat it and work through it.
Each person can have different experiences with friendship anxiety, and all sorts of triggers can bring it on. You can experience all kinds of thoughts and feelings, worrying about if your friends are mad at you for something, that they’re ghosting you, or that they find you annoying.
Trust me when I say that you’re not alone if you experience friendship anxiety, as it happens to a lot of people. Here are some ways to work through it and stop living in fear.
Combat your negative thoughts
If you’re sitting at home thinking your friend must be mad at you because they haven’t responded to your text in a few hours, getting ready to fall into a negative cycle of overthinking, challenge yourself.
Think about the last time you saw or spoke to them – did they say they don’t want to be your friend anymore? Did they act angry with you and not say goodbye? Or did they hug you and ask when you’re available next?
Remember that unless an actual rift happens between you and your friend that calls for resolution, you didn’t do anything wrong, and you’re overthinking your friend’s actions or lack of action. Don’t be so quick to freak out and start blaming yourself.
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Practice staying grounded
A big part of friendship anxiety is spending too much time in your head, which is full of anxious thoughts. You need to find ways to ground yourself and be mindful of your well-being. If you’ve suffered from friendship anxiety in the past, it could be a sign that you need to practice more self-care and take more time out of your day to ground yourself so you can stop focusing on others.
Try taking a few minutes each day to meditate, journal, practice breathing exercises, or repeat some positive affirmations. It’ll not only help you calm down but help you escape from those negative thoughts that come with friendship anxiety.
Be authentic in your friendships
A lot of people who experience constant friendship anxiety aren’t involved in very healthy friendships. If your friendship anxiety gets so bad that you can’t be your true self with your friend and feel like you must pretend to be another version of yourself with your friend, you should reconsider that friendship.
You want to make sure you surround yourself with people who accept you for who you are while striving to be a supportive friend. Be sure to check in on your friends and treat them how you’d want to be treated to get that in return.
Ask your friends for support
While you may overwhelm your friends by constantly asking them if they’re mad at you, you should let them know how you feel whenever friendship anxiety starts eating away at you. Calmly let them know that you’ve been dealing with anxiety surrounding the status of your relationship and ask if they feel you’re in a good place.
Honestly, I’ve found that one of the best ways to get rid of friendship anxiety is simply to hang out and spend time with those friends. When you see them in person, laugh, and have a good time, it’s reassurance that everything is fine and all those anxious thoughts you had were frivolous.
You can also always seek help from a therapist or counselor to dive further into your experience with friendship and general anxiety to learn more personalized ways to work through it. Friendships are some of the most valuable relationships in our lives, but you shouldn’t let anxiety revolving around them affect your well-being. Hang in there!
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