Can you be friends with someone your in love with (especially if there an addict).
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Can you be friends with someone your in love with (especially if there an addict).
Just a general wondering that came up out of another thread.
If your in love with someone but all they require is a friend, has anyone experience of being able to do this especially if they are an addict? Can you be friends only or is that settling.
If your in love with someone but all they require is a friend, has anyone experience of being able to do this especially if they are an addict? Can you be friends only or is that settling.
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Originally Posted by Glenjo99 
Just a general wondering that came up out of another thread.
If your in love with someone but all they require is a friend, has anyone experience of being able to do this especially if they are an addict? Can you be friends only or is that settling.
If your in love with someone but all they require is a friend, has anyone experience of being able to do this especially if they are an addict? Can you be friends only or is that settling.
Is it settling? Well if you are in a relationship with them you leave no room for a marvelous relationship with someone else.
What is a 100% guarantee is that you will hurt yourself in the process.
Perhaps ask yourself:
1. Why you would want to
2. Why you would purposefully hurt yourself so much
And no I have never tried this and I would not.
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I found that I could be friends with someone I was previously in love with. However, it took a lot of time to get there, and if I slept with him, I didn't have a fighting chance.
Finally, although it hurt like hell, I put a stop to the reuniting. I stopped all contact and ignored him when he contacted me, for nearly a year. I got involved with the wonderful man with whom I'm with now.
The ex and I are friends, although I haven't seen him for years and don't expect to ever see him again. But we email now and then and it's a supportive, long-distance friendship.
But - I am NOT in love with him anymore. Nowhere near it, which is incredible considering how I used to feel.
So yes, it can happen, but not while you're in love and absolutely not if you continue to be intimate. If you stop, let things cool down, stay no contact until your feelings fade, a friendship is possible.
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You're the only one who can answer that for yourself, Glenjo. Can you? Please don't kid yourself about how hard that would be. You love someone, but they only want to be friends. You would spend time with them in a platonic way--all the while your heart and mind would want more. Every word or action would be analyzed to see if there was hope of something more, and every time nothing happened--hopes dashed again.
Can you return to just friendly feelings?
Can you return to just friendly feelings?
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This sounds to me like opening yourself up to the possibility of having someone in your life in a new way even though when they were in it they weren't healthy. It kind of sounds like "if I just have ONE glass of wine."
I say that because my thoughts occasionally go there. The I go back and look at the list I've written down of all the terrible things he did and check one more day off of my NC "achievement chart" (such a nerd).
I can't even think of friendship right now. I need to focus on my recovery first. I think for me thinking of friendship would be worrying about his needs over mine all over again (and what I'm getting from him needing me). I wanna do something different. Do you?
I say that because my thoughts occasionally go there. The I go back and look at the list I've written down of all the terrible things he did and check one more day off of my NC "achievement chart" (such a nerd).
I can't even think of friendship right now. I need to focus on my recovery first. I think for me thinking of friendship would be worrying about his needs over mine all over again (and what I'm getting from him needing me). I wanna do something different. Do you?
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Glenjo, I've said this in the past about this same guy.. He's not your friend(and he is straight). You two hung out for a bit and "hooked up" once when he was coked outta his mind. You seriously need to let this "friendship" go and get on with your life.
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I absolutely think you can pretend to be friends but not for very long. It is kind of a living lie if you are super attracted to someone. Or another way to put it: it isn't really economically feasible as you would have to put so much energy into suppressing the attraction that any positive returns wouldn't pay back the input.
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The only circumstances where it works is when both parties are out of love with each other, and in no way emotionally dependent. In your case, you are still emotionally vulnerable, and he has something to gain.
It doesn't happen that often because there are usually other partners in the mix.
I am on good terms with my exH and spend quite a bit of time with him and his wife at family gatherings. In fact we'll all be camping together between Christmas and the New Year. I don't consider us 'friends' because I keep a little distance in respect for his second marriage. If his wife wasn't around I'd still be a little wary.
It doesn't happen that often because there are usually other partners in the mix.
I am on good terms with my exH and spend quite a bit of time with him and his wife at family gatherings. In fact we'll all be camping together between Christmas and the New Year. I don't consider us 'friends' because I keep a little distance in respect for his second marriage. If his wife wasn't around I'd still be a little wary.
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Originally Posted by suki44883
I wouldn't call it settling. I'd call it a complete waste of time and a great way to be miserable. Why would you want that for yourself?
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Originally Posted by Bekindalways
I absolutely think you can pretend to be friends but not for very long. It is kind of a living lie if you are super attracted to someone. Or another way to put it: it isn't really economically feasible as you would have to put so much energy into suppressing the attraction that any positive returns wouldn't pay back the input.
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I like the quote:
"Never make someone your priority when all you are to them is an option."
I understand how you feel, Glenjo, and don't judge you for it at all.
But this is a signal that you have a lot of work to do on the strength of your self-worth. That wasn't something *I* was able to accomplish while I was still hanging on for validation from the people who had rejected me before. It is scary to let go, but it's even scarier to hang on and never give yourself the chance to become someone new.
"Never make someone your priority when all you are to them is an option."
I understand how you feel, Glenjo, and don't judge you for it at all.
But this is a signal that you have a lot of work to do on the strength of your self-worth. That wasn't something *I* was able to accomplish while I was still hanging on for validation from the people who had rejected me before. It is scary to let go, but it's even scarier to hang on and never give yourself the chance to become someone new.
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Friendships are based on MUTUAL trust, loyalty, respect.
Friends share common interests, support each, lift each other up.
Friends cause no harm to each other.
Friends apologize to each other if there happens to be a disagreement.
Don’t see this fella having any of the above qualities to even consider him a friend.
I think you trying to rewrite an ending to a story, that has already ended.
Do you believe being friends with him., would somehow make it easier to let go? Are you possibly feeling guilty?do you believe you are abandoning him in his time of need? Are you holding on to wishful thoughts that he is magically going to be better soon?
The can we be just friends thoughts running thru your head are keeping you stuck, it’s not healthy for you to dwell on this type of thinking....
Keep your focus on you, my friend.
Friends share common interests, support each, lift each other up.
Friends cause no harm to each other.
Friends apologize to each other if there happens to be a disagreement.
Don’t see this fella having any of the above qualities to even consider him a friend.
I think you trying to rewrite an ending to a story, that has already ended.
Do you believe being friends with him., would somehow make it easier to let go? Are you possibly feeling guilty?do you believe you are abandoning him in his time of need? Are you holding on to wishful thoughts that he is magically going to be better soon?
The can we be just friends thoughts running thru your head are keeping you stuck, it’s not healthy for you to dwell on this type of thinking....
Keep your focus on you, my friend.
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Originally Posted by Glenjo99
In the interests if being honest and not saying what I think people want to hear, because it seems like being friends with him is next best thing. I know, sounds sad.
Just to be clear, I'm not judging you at all either, I totally get this, understand.
My only concern is that if you do decide to do this or to even start a relationship with him again, you could end up getting very hurt (again). Just to add to what Marie wrote about friendship. How is it that he can even ask you for your friendship while not displaying any of the character she listed? He abandoned you when you needed him and went silent.
You rarely mention what you were like before the ex? Were you outgoing? You mention you used to go out with friends etc, do you still do that? Isolation is not a good thing. Perspective cannot be gained in a bubble. I'm glad you are posting here.
How was your self-esteem before you met him? Were you generally happy in life and with your life?
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Funny, I was just having a discussion about something similar with someone last night. We were joking about a Matt Groening cartoon from the 90s, “Love, What’s Your Style”. We were talking about what’s more painful, no contact, or putting up with the pain of being involved with someone like this (friendship or otherwise). She was saying she thought the no contact was worse, and related to the part of the cartoon that said “it might be a passionately destructive relationship, but at least it’s passionate”. Basically for her, no contact felt like abandonment, which stemming from childhood issues, feels like death, and she’d rather have the craziness than the void, the nothingness (and yes, that begs the question, where is the void coming from and why is she filling it with an addict active in his addiction).
For me, being in love with someone who is on a self destructive path, and can’t connect in an authentic way due to addictions and all of the underlying “issues stuff”, and dealing with the push- pull behaviors and all of the crap that comes with that, the lows for me in that scenario feels worse than abandonment (once you get through the initial awful beginning stages).
So basically I’ve been able to stay friends with an ex who I’m not in love with anymore (not an addict), but anyone who “triggers” me, has addiction issues/ is emotionally/ developmentally arrested, and I have those “love” feelings for, I have to be very careful with, because really it’s the emotional equivalent of walking through a field of land mines. And when you are in love with an addict, let’s be real, I don’t care how much work a person has done on themselves or how strong one feels, that’s basically what you’re potentially doing to yourself emotionally, unless you have nerves of steel and are confident this person can’t trigger you or get at you emotionally anymore. I think it’s *very, very* important to pay attention to how you feel around a person like this, chances are you might have some highs, but the lows are usually right around the corner.
For me, being in love with someone who is on a self destructive path, and can’t connect in an authentic way due to addictions and all of the underlying “issues stuff”, and dealing with the push- pull behaviors and all of the crap that comes with that, the lows for me in that scenario feels worse than abandonment (once you get through the initial awful beginning stages).
So basically I’ve been able to stay friends with an ex who I’m not in love with anymore (not an addict), but anyone who “triggers” me, has addiction issues/ is emotionally/ developmentally arrested, and I have those “love” feelings for, I have to be very careful with, because really it’s the emotional equivalent of walking through a field of land mines. And when you are in love with an addict, let’s be real, I don’t care how much work a person has done on themselves or how strong one feels, that’s basically what you’re potentially doing to yourself emotionally, unless you have nerves of steel and are confident this person can’t trigger you or get at you emotionally anymore. I think it’s *very, very* important to pay attention to how you feel around a person like this, chances are you might have some highs, but the lows are usually right around the corner.
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