u/Impressive_While_178

Whoever said it’s better to be alone than surrounded by people who make you feel lonely was lying. I don’t have anyone to talk to, no one to share my small, silly thoughts or my emotions with. I’m going through a complicated relationship, and it’s exhausting.

I love my family more than anything, but after living abroad for almost six years, I got used to keeping things to myself instead of opening up to them. The one person I used to share everything with (my person), has become emotionally distant, and things between us have been really hard lately.

I don’t know what’s going to happen to my heart or my mind, and honestly, that scares me.

Whoever said it’s better to be alone than surrounded by people who make you feel lonely was lying. I don’t have anyone to talk to, no one to share my small, silly thoughts or my emotions with. I’m going through a complicated relationship, and it’s exhausting.

I love my family more than anything, but after living abroad for almost six years, I got used to keeping things to myself instead of opening up to them. The one person I used to share everything with (my person), has become emotionally distant, and things between us have been really hard lately.

I don’t know what’s going to happen to my heart or my mind, and honestly, that scares me.

Whoever said it’s better to be alone than surrounded by people who make you feel lonely was lying. I don’t have anyone to talk to, no one to share my small, silly thoughts or my emotions with. I’m going through a complicated relationship, and it’s exhausting.

I love my family more than anything, but after living abroad for almost six years, I got used to keeping things to myself instead of opening up to them. The one person I used to share everything with (my person), has become emotionally distant, and things between us have been really hard lately.

I don’t know what’s going to happen to my heart or my mind, and honestly, that scares me.

I recently saw a video of a woman explaining that chronic anxiety can come from having a low tolerance for uncertainty. She said that constantly rereading old texts or replaying scenarios in your head is often a way of trying to feel reassured or gain certainty. It made me wonder if anyone else here experiences the same thing. If so, what small habits or changes in your daily life helped you stop doing that or manage it better?

Title: How do I step back from a relationship without losing my best friend?

I (F, early 20s) have known him (M, early 20s) since 2019. What started as a friendship slowly became something deeper, even though we never officially called it a relationship. Because of my family situation and living in another country, I always knew this probably wouldn’t lead to marriage, and I accepted that. I was okay with just having him in my life.

The problem is that emotionally, I feel very unfulfilled. Our relationship mostly exists through texting, and while we talk daily, he rarely expresses affection, reassurance, or romantic feelings. He almost never tells me he misses me, gives emotional validation, or makes me feel emotionally wanted. I’ve communicated this many times, and while he sometimes tries briefly after I bring it up, things always go back to the same pattern.

Recently, I realized how emotionally exhausted I am from constantly waiting for him to give me the kind of affection and reassurance I need. I still love him deeply and care about him as my best friend, but I don’t think I can continue whatever this is anymore because it hurts too much.

I don’t want to completely cut him out of my life. Ideally, I’d like us to eventually stay friends, but I think I need distance first so I can stop expecting emotional intimacy from him.

How do I communicate that I need to step back without losing the friendship completely? And for people who stayed friends with someone they loved, how much time apart helped you emotionally detach before reconnecting?

I’m a 24-year-old medical student who was supposed to start my internship in March in another country where my university is. Due to some issues, I couldn’t start on time—that’s what I told my mom. But the full truth is that I also had to repeat a subject, and I haven’t told anyone in my family about that.

Because of this, I decided to stay a bit longer since I can’t afford to travel and live there right now. I told my mom I’m waiting for a SHEIN order to arrive before I go back, which is true—I am expecting a shipment in about a week. The problem is that I told her that same timeline earlier, so she has asked me a couple of times since then when I’ll be traveling.

Each time, I’ve said I’m waiting for the order. But this last time, I felt overwhelmed and got a bit frustrated. I told her to stop asking and that I know what I’m doing, and she doesn’t need to worry. She just said “okay, do what you want,” and I told her to leave me be.

This situation has been bothering me because I feel like this pattern happens a lot between us. When I feel uncomfortable, I think I’m showing it indirectly, but she doesn’t seem to pick up on it. From my perspective, I felt like I had already made it clear the first two times that I didn’t want her to keep asking. But in reality, I never said it directly.

So by the third time, I got annoyed and reacted in a way I didn’t intend. I had imagined I would respond calmly if she asked again, but in the moment, I still got frustrated. I don’t think I was outright rude, but it felt disrespectful to me, and it didn’t communicate what I actually wanted to say.

I’m trying to understand this reaction. Why do I respond like this even when I plan not to? And how can I handle it better? It’s been bothering me a lot.

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If you want, I can also  explain what this reaction is (it’s actually very common) and  give you a practical way to handle it next time without blowing up or bottling it up.