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Learning that your good friend is moving can be shocking.
Rest assured that you wont feel this bad forever.
you could still have a close, long-distance friendship with your friend.
Diego_cervo / Getty Images
Find out how to cope with your friend moving away.
But one or two friendships can be greatly meaningful.
Even one friendship can impact your life.
The study looked at both adolescent girls and boys.
Friendship Reduces Stress Levels
Friendship also reduces your stress levels.
During normal circumstances,friends might grow apartor one changes and thus the friendship ends.
Sometimes friendships end due to a fight orconflict.
In this situation, you may feel like you have no control over the circumstance.
You may view the situation as simply: youlost a friend.
While change is inevitable, you didnt necessarily lose that friend.
Youre experiencing a major loss and its OK to acknowledge that.
You might worry about the future of your friendship.
Recently, a small studyexplored the relationship between grief and best friends among adolescent Danish girls.
Friends Feel Left Behind
Findings showed its challenging for the friend left behind.
Celebrate the Positives
Though youre down, you might focus on the positive aspects of this move.
Or you may feel guilty for wanting them to stay.
All these feelings are OK to cycle through.
If youmiss your frienda lot, too, theres no reason to hide it.
Admit it to yourself and also tell your friend.
Are You Feeling Lonely?
Be sure to FaceTime or Zoom with them if you cant visit.
Communicating with your friend will not only sustain your relationship, but it will also reduce those negative feelings.
Reference a shared memory.
Listen to your friends news about her new living space and neighborhood, and respond withempathyandinterest.
Take time to process this big change in your life.
You may no longer run with your friend every Saturday morning.
Or you cant shoot hoops anymore.
It’s OK to realize youre hurting or a bitlonelywithout them.
Take Care of Yourself
Find self-compassionnow and be kind to yourself as you navigate this new normal.
Eat well, get enough sleep, keep exercising and be sure to rest.
Allow yourself the time to get through this.
Its not farfetched to feel like you justneed a hugright now either.
And seek out the help of alicensed therapistif you need further guidance on dealing with this issue.
Graber R, Turner R, Madill A.
Best friends and better coping: Facilitating psychological resilience through boys' and girls' closest friendships.Br J Psychol.
2021;33(4):411-427. doi:10.1080/08952841.2021.1915686
Winther-Lindqvist DA, Larsen IO.
Grief and Best Friendship Among Adolescent Girls.Omega (Westport).
2021;83(3):545-562. doi:10.1177/0030222819856146
Cleveland Clinic.Anxiety Disorders.
Harvard Health Publishing.The Power of Self-Compassion.
