Your Happiness Factor

When friendships end! If we are lucky in life we get to meet many people and make some good friends. We can make friends throughout life. And some we carry with us through our life.  Lots of people are still friends with people they met as children. But sometimes friendships come to an end.  This may happen quite naturally and by some kind of unspoken agreement. You just seem to realise you have nothing in common any more – life has moved on and what was a friendship becomes an acquaintanceship with some happy memories and the annual Christmas card. At other times the break up is rather more traumatic with angry words, accusations and on-going bad feelings. It has some elements in common with a broken love affair but it can be lot more messy. With a broken love affair someone usually makes it quite clear that this is the end. That may be painful but at least you can mourn the loss and then get on with the rest of your life.  It is not wise to end a friendship in anger. Mu

Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend Two friends (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Boyfriends, work, kids, life crises, cultural gaps— there are all kinds of reasons why female friendships end. Sometimes the reasons can be quite strange and very confusing. Whatever the cause, you can be left devastated and asking yourself lots of difficult questions. Was someone to blame? Was the friendship worth fighting for? How can I avoid this happening again? The saddest thing is that women going through this often have no one to confide in. Losing a husband or lover usually means there is lots of sympathy around. But broken friendships don't touch the same chords and it can make other friends feel uncomfortable – is the same thing going to happen between you and them? Irene Levine is a journalist and psychologist. In her book, Best Friends, s he offers compassionate advice on how to find your way through the issues and she offers suggestions on when to save a r