What To Do When You Have Friendship Burnout?

What to do when you have friendship burnout.

This is actually a thing! Yes, if you’ve ever felt like you need some time away from a friend or group or friends, you’re not alone. It’s perfectly normal to feel that way. Whether you are sick of seeing your friends, or being the one that has to emotionally support them, eventually it can catch up to you mentally.

But what causes friendship burnout? Why do you end up feeling that way? And what should you do about it? That’s what we will be talking about today!

In this post, I’ll go over the phenomenon of friendship burnout, what causes it and what you can do about it. There are many reasons why you may feel burnt out with your friends, and that is why I made this article. By knowing what to do, you can find the best solution while also maintaining your friendships.

Alright, let’s get into it.

What is friendship burnout?

Let’s start with the definition of friendship burnout. To me, friendship burnout is when you’re tired of seeing or talking to certain friends of yours. It may not be all your friends, but only a specific set of friend(s).

Here are some symptoms of friendship burnout:

• You wanting to ignore their text or social media messages
• Easily becoming more irritated or angered by whatever they do, whenever you’re around then
• Not listening to what they have to say, because you don’t want to

I myself have experienced friendship burnout, so don’t feel like you’re being a bad person if you feel this way. I think it’s more common than you think. After all, friendships have their ups and downs at times. But a true friendship will stay strong, regardless of difficult times.

If this friendships burnout resonates with you, then keep reading!

Causes of friendship burnout

Based on my own experiences, there can be many reasons why you’re feeling friendship burnout. Here are some examples:

• You’re emotionally supporting your friend too much. Listening to your friend’s problems and issues is a great thing; you’re being a wonderful friend by supporting them! But if you’re always doing this, then it can weigh down on you heavily and cause you to burnout.
• Your friends are changing in a way that’s difficult to manage. Change is always inevitable when it comes to long-lasting friendships. Whether it’s in your teenage or college years or in your 30s and beyond, no one or place stays the same. If your friends are changing personalities in a way that’s difficult for you to keep up with, then that could cause you to feel burnt out. Click here to read how friendships can drift apart.
• You spend too much time with them. Just simply that! If you spend a lot of time with your friends, you could just get sick of them. I know when I spent a ton of time with some family members, I eventually get annoyed with their negative habits. Friends are no exception. No one is perfect and you shouldn’t expect perfection from them. But it’s only natural to feel burnt out if you need to spend tons of time with them.

Now that you know what can cause friendship burnout, what can you do about it? Let’s find out!

Solutions for friendship burnout

You might think the best solution for friendship burnout is to end the friendship. Absolutely not! While sometimes it’s valid to end a friendship for various reasons (click here to read when to end a friendship), friendship burnout is NOT one of them. Because in my opinion, friendship burnout is only a temporary feeling that can usually be resolved.

Here are some solutions:

• Spend some time away from your friends. This is the easiest solution to potentially solve friendship burnout. If you’re sick of seeing your friends or having to put up with some of their annoying habits, then taking a break from them can do wonders. There is no specific time period; it can be a week, a month, several months. When you stop seeing them for a while, you’ll probably appreciate their presence a lot more. It will feel refreshing to see them again after so long.
• Be honest with them and address your concerns. You want to be there for your friend, but it’s hurting you emotionally. The best thing to do is be upfront and let them know. For example, if your friend always complains to you, let them know that you care about them but there’s only so much you can take. Most friends will understand and change their ways. They want to maintain the friendship as well.
• Enforce your boundaries. Sometimes your friends need a good reminder that you are your own person and that you have boundaries as well. For example, if your friends are changing in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, let them know! If they want to party and drink more often, let them know that it’s not your thing to do so. Or if they want to hangout everyday with you, let them know that you’re busy and you don’t have infinite time on your hands.

Conclusion

As you can see, friendship burnout can happen with your friends. But it doesn’t have to be a deal breaker for your friendship. Simply taking a temporary break from them can ease the tension and make each other more appreciative in the future. Communicating your concerns is essential to understanding each other. And enforcing your boundaries is a great way to let your friends know what you’re cool with. In my experience, I found doing these things can help resolve the feeling or friendship burnout.

By knowing how to address the issue, friendship burnout can be solved! Again you don’t need to get rid of your friends or cut ties completely. This is something, to me, that can definitely be solved. And in this article, I showed you how. 🙂

I hope you found this post helpful. If you have any questions or feedback, leave them in the comments below!