Friendships make life meaningful. They provide love and warmth in life. Friendships also help people in difficult times. Friendships are built on mutual understanding, trust, and faith. A good relationship is when both parties put more or less equal efforts. Both show interest as well as engagement. However, when the efforts are not reciprocal, it refers to a one-sided friendship. In this article, we discuss one-sided friendship psychology. One-sided friendships can hurt

Have you ever been in a relationship where you feel that you are the one who is maintaining it? Often, we find ourselves in friendships where the other person may not show interest. They may not show an equal amount of love and care. It can hurt a lot. This type of bond refers to a one-sided friendship. It hurts a lot because the person who puts effort ends up getting nothing in return for their love and care. When they need their loved ones, they just can’t reach them.

  One-sided friendships can take many forms. In some cases, the other person is completely unaware of the efforts of the person who wishes to be friends. In other cases, the person is aware and yet chooses to not reciprocate the feelings. Sometimes, the friendship is forced. It doesn’t feel organic which is why one of the parties chose to not put any effort. Having said that, in all these cases, the one who is taking an effort gets hurt and feels lonely at times.

Psychology behind one-sided friendship states that there is always one person who is a giver in the relationship. Here are some most commonly found signs of one-sided friendship. Here are some of them.

One-sided friendships hurt because the person who invests time and effort feels unvalued. They may feel lonely at times. They are always the givers in the relationship. Additionally, they feel alone in times of crisis. It can be very tiring to only give. Even though you may not want gifts in return, not getting time from the one you love can be hurtful.

One-sided friendship hurts because an uneven friendship might hurt you, and you shouldn’t feel bad about seeking more. You invested the time and energy. Although your friend claims to care, their persistent lack of attention strongly suggests otherwise. There may be great emotional upheaval as a result.

One-sided friendship can make you question yourself. You may feel scared that you have offended your friend which I why they show no interest in you.

When you begin to question whether you are to blame, you can start criticizing others’ perceived short comings and avoiding other friends out of concern that you will alienate them as well. This self-defeating self-talk can harm your self-image in addition to making you feel alone and vulnerable.

There are many reasons why a friendship can be one-sided. One simple reason could be that one partner is not interested in the friendship. They may not find it worth it to invest in the relationship. They may not be able to match the expectations of the other partner. In these cases, the friendship can get lopsided. Other factors such as unreasonably high expectations from one party for intimacy when a friend may be overly emotionally dependent or an inaccurate judgment of the degree of intimacy in the friendship could also contribute to the imbalance in reciprocity.

In other cases, a one-sided friendship can be because both friends are at different phases of friendship. Some people take time before investing in a relationship whereas others can quickly form a new friendship. There can be some misunderstandings that can lead to a rift in a well-established friendship hence making it one-sided over time.

A lot of times, we can start having differences of opinions with our friends. This can lead to one partner not feeling connected to the other one. They may start moving away from them hence making the friendship one-sided.

Understanding one-sided friendship psychology can help us comprehend our relationships better. It can help us understand the imbalance in friendship better. It can help you understand if you need to open a communication with your friend or take a step back. At times, changing the type of conversation can also help improve the friendship. However, sometimes the best option can be to just let go. When the friendship starts hurting your self-esteem, its okay to let go of it. It is important to understand that you are worth much more in life. Additionally, when you give yourselves more importance, you wont feel sad or lonely. At Epsychonline, there are courses that can help you boost your self-esteem. Courses such as Low Self esteem can help you work on your self worth. There are many articles that deal with one-sided relationships. Do check them out.