There are many benefits of keeping in touch. Close friendships can help reduce stress and anxiety and improve your overall health. For example, people with strong social support systems tend to have lower blood pressure and longer lifespans. Knowing you have friends and loved ones who care about you is very reassuring.
For your inner circle, the people you go out with the most, I recommend once a week; or twice a month if you can't do it every week. Staying in touch is 80% of the game. For long-distance friendships and casual acquaintances, I recommend you touch base at least twice a year.
Undeniably, both old friends and new ones are essential to leading a harmony and healthy social life, yet keeping relationship with old friends outweighs that with the later ones. For the sake of time and efficiency, hanging out with old friends are more convinient as we are already familiar with each other.
While people have known for years that friendships are unquestionably good for your health, experts say it's only natural for acquaintances and even friends to fall by the wayside as time goes on – and it's nothing to feel guilty about. If you really do miss someone, you can always reach back out.
Old friends can remind you of the person you used to be and help get you in touch with parts of yourself that might have become suppressed over the years. Offering a new perspective: Reconnecting with old friends can give you a new perspective on your life now, relative to how it was in the past.
“You can love them, forgive them, want good things for them… but still move on without them.” It's OK to let go of old friendships that no longer nurture or stimulate your intellect. You love them, but they no longer serve you. Sometimes leaving a friendship can feel like a breakup.
Growing apart from friends is never fun, but it's a natural part of life. You change, your friends change, and over time you find that you have less and less to talk about. Cherish the fond memories, and let those friendships fade away when they need to.
They're never around in difficult times
So, being too busy, citing excuses, or flaking out on you every time you need help or support is one of the unmistakable signs your friend doesn't truly care about you.
Even if you've been friends with someone for a long time, people can grow apart or no longer put equal effort and care into the relationship. If you can't count on them, or feel like you're doing all the work to maintain the friendship, it's okay to go with your gut and cut it off.
: a person who has been one's friend for a long time.
According to new research, we make just 29 real friends in our lifetime and only six of them last the distance. A study, which charted the social lives of 2,000 people, showed that we lose touch with almost half of the friends that we make.
Making a new friend is vulnerable and enriching, it helps us stay open to life and to people and creates fresh opportunities for us to discover new things. Keeping an old friend helps us to feel rooted, to think outside of ourselves and practice forgiveness and love.
Some other non-personal reasons a friend doesn't reach out include: They are more introverted, shy, or reserved than you are. They have social anxiety and feel uncomfortable about initiating a conversation. They feel socially awkward or like they don't have good social skills.
If you are the one who is constantly reaching out (i.e., you always text or call first) and they are not reciprocating your efforts, this could be a signal that you are in a one-sided friendship. Action Tip: Go through your phone and list the top 10 people you communicate with every month.
Obviously, most people don't meet all of their friends during childhood and, unfortunately, not all friendships last forever. The poll found that the average friendship lasts for 17 years, however, 17 percent say they've had the same best friend for over 30 years!
You have little or nothing to talk about
Sometimes, friends drift apart, whether you have less in common or life circumstances have changed. If you have little or nothing to talk about anymore, it may be a sign your friendship as you knew it has come to an end.
Let It Fizzle
This is the easiest way to end a friendship, Tessina says. Say no thank you when they invite you to make plans, and don't reach out again. Most people will just drift off in response. If your friend is really interested, they will ask what's wrong, and you can communicate how you feel.
A simple test to detect if someone dislikes you: ask them about their hobbies, friendships, or something else they enjoy. If they always respond in short and frigid words, or just yes or no answers, chances are they aren't for you. I mean, consider it. You don't talk to someone if you don't want to.
While a friend might use relaxed language, share a few jokes, or otherwise interact in a light-hearted manner, a person that doesn't consider you their friend may sound more official or formal, giving clipped responses when you meet up with them in person or otherwise engage them in conversation.
It's not necessarily a bad thing—as we go through phases in our life, we're bound to meet new people and get too busy to make time for our old friends. You may be focused on just a few relationships. As we age, we tend to narrow our social circles down quite a bit.
“This is because a friend is someone who has shared so much in our history,” says Beresford. “Friends are an important part of our social structure, which is why when a friendship fades, we can get emotional or nostalgic.” Our longing after former friendships is also related to attachment theory.
While it is sad to think about losing friends as we get older, losing friends in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and even 50s is perfectly normal. In fact, it's even regarded as healthy and shows that you're maturing. So when does this friend drop-off point occur? Studies show that we begin to lose friends in our mid-twenties.