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The Unhealthy Relationship Between Being Friends with an Ex and Moving On

Marquis Arnold
3 min readAug 24, 2024

In the journey of moving on from a past relationship, being friends with an ex can hinder the process and have negative impacts on one’s mental well-being. Here are some reasons why maintaining a friendship with an ex can be mentally detrimental:

- Emotional Attachment: Remaining friends with an ex can sustain emotional ties that may prevent emotional healing and closure from taking place.

- Reliving Memories: Interacting with an ex often leads to reminiscing about the past, which can stir up old feelings and prevent moving forward in life.

- Jeopardizing New Relationships: Being friends with an ex can create jealousy and trust issues in potential new relationships, as the ex may still hold a significant place in one’s life.

- Uncertainty and Confusion: It can be difficult to establish clear boundaries in a friendship with an ex, leading to confusion about feelings and intentions.

- Stagnation in Personal Growth: Holding onto a friendship with an ex can hinder personal growth by keeping one tied to the past instead of focusing on the present and future.

- Cutting Communication: Blocking an ex’s number and on social media can create necessary distance and reduce the temptation to reach out or…

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Marquis Arnold
Marquis Arnold

Written by Marquis Arnold

Author, Poet, screenplay writer #ColumbusOhio Mental Health Advocate

Responses (4)

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Really needed this. Being stuck in this situation for a long time. Learned things. Thank you for sharing!

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Being friends with an ex often hinders healing and can complicate future relationships and personal growth.

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Self care in such situations is key.

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