For many women, friendships are among the most important things in their lives. Some assume that the longer the duration of the friendship, the better the friend. But that's not necessarily true.
More than a year ago, an officemate informed me that my friend had been borrowing money from people outside of our company using my name. She made them believe that I was in dire need but was embarrassed to do it personally because of my status as the highest officer of our company. It reached a point that these persons had been requesting to personally collect from since I have been failing to pay them for months now. I was so shocked to hear this so I confronted my friend but she denied the report. She used the excuse that this was the doing of people who wanted to destroy our relationship. Since she was my long time friend, I believed her.
Months later a lady came to see me in my office and she told me that I owed her a big sum of money and I have been in default for more than a year. She was embarrassed to do it but she needed the money very badly so she had to personally collect from me. It was only then that I realized that the report was true all along.
It was a signal of the end of a friendship.
According to Lain Ehmann, "No matter what the reason, ending a friendship can be very difficult. But by allowing unhealthy or unfulfilling friendships to continue could be sacrificing your own well-being." Some advised me to end it gracefully. They suggested that I let things cool... gradually distancing myself by not phoning her liked I used to or by not joining her for lunch.
My friend's behavior had been so hurtful that I needed to end things completely and quickly. I did not heed the advise of my friends. I decided to take the direct route. I have concluded that the connection is unsalvageable and I'm better off without that person in my life. By doing so will make room in my life for more positive nurturing people.
What would you have done if confronted with a disrespectful, ungrateful & abusive friend?
