Reach out once and wait for a response before trying to reach them a different way. You don’t want to make them feel harassed or pressured. If they agree to meet you via text or email, it may be best to meet in a mutual, public place so that neither of you feels intimidated or under pressure.
Don’t push your friend if it’s clear they want space. It will only upset them and make them frustrated with you.
Express your feelings without using inflammatory or accusatory words. For example, instead of saying, “You made a really dumb decision,” ask your friend, “Why did you decide to do that? I’m having trouble understanding. "
If you did wrong them in some way, apologize to them sincerely. If they apologize to you, accept their apology graciously.
For example, if your friend says to you, “I just can’t believe you did that to me! I will never trust you again!” you can say something like, “I know, it was a really dumb thing for me to do. I am so sorry. I want to make things right, please tell me how I can do that. ”
If you have any requests of them, make them now. You could say something like, “In the future, I just want you to respect my feelings when I express them. I want to feel like they matter to you. ”[13] X Research source
It will likely take a lot of time for you to rebuild trust. Give the friendship time to grow together.
Your friend should show you kindness, encouragement, respect, and empathy. If your friend is generally incapable of giving you these things, or vice versa, it may not be a healthy friendship.
If you don’t feel comfortable being yourself around them, then it may be a sign that you don’t trust them not to use the information you share with them against you. Since healthy relationships are based on trust, your friendship may never be close if this feeling remains. A good friend offers criticism with compassion.
A toxic friend may make you compete for their friendship, whereas a good friend will accept you and make time for you without exception. Toxic people tend to force you to abandon your own problems to deal with theirs.
Your friend should inspire you to grow, and you should do the same for your friend.
For example, you might say something like, “I’ve been thinking about our friendship and I think I need to take a break. I don’t like the way I feel when we’re around each other – I think I need to sort some things out for myself. "
