My best friend is being so selfish.....
I told my best friend of more than 13 years that I was pregnant before anybody else except my husband. She first reacted with jealousy, not blatantly toward me (her response to the message was just"Congrats."), but told me later that her initial feeling on the matter was not positive. She quickly came around and supported me, but her first reaction was very upsetting. Regardless, I let it go and didn't even mention it. Shortly after, around 8 weeks into the pregnancy, I opened up and criticized her for being shallow and emotionally distant. Of all the years I've known her, she rarely asked about my life or how I was doing. Anytime we would talk it was usually about her, the issues she was going through or just random superficial things to pass the time. If I wanted to talk about something in my life or an issue I was having or even just something that was really interesting to me that we didn't share, she was always very distractible and interrupted me constantly with random thoughts that were totally unrelated to what I was saying. It was clear she never really listened. Anyway, the way I criticised her was more out of place of concern. I was a little irritated but I didn't yell at her, belittle her, call her names, blame her or even say anything remotely mean or hateful. I approached her with honesty and love overall. Anytime I caught myself getting upset I would apologize immediately and remind her that I was saying this out of love and care. She kept calm, expressing appreciation for how I felt, and made it seem like she wanted to work it out and talk through these issues. She even said that she wanted me to criticize her more often because she wants to be a better person and doesn't want to effect me this wsy. She went as far as to ask me to help her when things like this happen and agreed that she doesn't reach out like she should. I was somewhat relieved that she was calm, but also suspected she was just telling me what I wanted to hear. Nevertheless, we continued the conversation respectfully and civilly. The last thing we talked about was her anxiety. She suffers from severe anxiety every single day. I've tried helping her on this matter because I used to suffer from anxiety for a good majority of my life. Not only that, but I study psychology/neurology and really firmly believe that you can overcome just about anything with healthier habits and a positive mind set. It's never easy, but doable with persistence and dedication. She had the nerve to say that I didn't really know what anxiety felt like and that I only had a concept of what it was through what I've read, completely forgetting that my entire life I've dealt with anxiety just like she has. That was baffling to me. How can someone that you consider a sister, someone you've known almost your entire life, just FORGET a major detail about who you are? That was the final line for me. I got upset and a little too riled and told her that that was totally unacceptable to me and so very hurtful. She then tried to play it off as if she meant that I didn't know how it specifically felt for her, but I know that's not what she meant because she argued me down at first about how "People forget things sometimes". After that she and I respectfully and mutually decided to cool off and went to bed because it was late. A couple of days later I messaged her apologizing for getting riled, told her I didn't want to add any extra stress to her life and reminded her that I loved her. I told her that if she needed anything from me she can always reach out to me and that I would support her in any way that I could. She didn't respond. It's been a month and a half now and she won't talk to me. She won't ask how my pregnancy is doing, she blatantly ignores comments and messages that I send her, and it's clear that she's completely cut me out of her life. A couple weeks after ignoring me, she even posted a stupid status (I hate Facebook) saying, "I am not customizable. I'm a person." which seemed to outright display how she felt about our talk, contrary to what she expressed to me. This could have been coincidental and unrelated, but I very HIGHLY doubt it.When I sent her my very healthy 11 week update (after being afraid of another miscarriage) she said, "Congratulations to you both. Looks like you're officially in the clear." I went on to say that I wasn't entirely out of the woods, but everything was great and perfectly healthy so far and she said, "That's great news." That was it, then silence again. I know her, and I feel like that was just another attempt to tell me what I wanted to hear, rather than a genuine appreciation for my pregnancy. I am almost 16 weeks now, and haven't heard a word from her since. I think if she continues to ignore me like this, even after I've tried to include her, I'm going to end the friendship for good. It's so heartbreaking because I can't understand how anyone could justify themselves for being so selfish and blatantly uncaring, specifically after that person that you claim to love so much asked you to be there MORE and you AGREED. I could have approached her differently, sure, and I understand needing distance/time, but if she ignores me for several months over something like this, that' s excessive and displays her narcissism loud and proud. She's soon to be 26, I'm 24, and I feel like we're teenagers bickering again. At this point, even if she did come around and try to get involved, I don't think I want her to be an influence on my child's life anyway. To be incapable of recieving criticism from somebody you claim to love very dearly, is shocking and not something I ever want her to indirectly teach my child. Sorry for the long vent. It's been stressing me out so much, and I just needed to get all the negativity out of my head. Thanks for reading. :)
Achieve your health goals from period to parenting.