When Is A Friendship Worth Saving?

When do you fight for a friendship and when do you walk away?

For the finale of our series on social health, Liz Bohannon and I are putting on our Dear Abby hats and tackling the friendship questions you sent us: conflict, exclusion, betrayal, gossip, growing apart, toxic friendships, and the heartbreak of losing someone you've loved for years.

What if you've simply outgrown your friend group? What if one misunderstanding threatens to end a friendship? What do you do when you feel left out—or when a friend seems to be pulling other people into side conversations without you? And what happens when you're caught in the middle of two friends who aren't speaking?

We also hear from a woman whose 17-year friendship ended after a relationship became toxic, and she says she's never let anyone that close again. How do you protect yourself without closing yourself off?

Liz and I get into the messy, uncomfortable reality of friendship: when to have the hard conversation, when to give someone another chance, and when it's time to let go.

And maybe the biggest question of all: What does a healthy friendship actually require of us?

Because friendship is one of the most important investments we can make in our health and our lives.

So let's talk about which relationships are worth fighting for and which ones aren't.

Listen in to learn more:

0:05:01 — It’s Never Too Late to Invest in Friendship

0:07:27 — Gossip Destroys Trust and Relational Safety

0:10:31 — Name the Unmet Longing Instead of Outgrowing the Friendship