See, I've got this friend. We've known each other for several years and have been close friends for about two years through some pretty rough times for both of us, generally drawing a lot of energy and joy from being together. But lately we have been very snippy with each other. I come away from all our interactions feeling like an idiot, because he's really pretty good at making me feel completely stupid (which I know, objectively, I am not). I don't think he's doing it on purpose, and actually I know he doesn't think I'm stupid, but he's not being very nice to me.
Granted, he is going through some pretty hard personal stuff right now, and I feel like I should be there for him. On the other hand, almost every exchange we have had in the past week has been damaging me to some extent, and I don't think I'm doing him much good right now either. Some of this is certainly coloured by the fact that I'm not very happy right now myself.
But I'm not sure what the right thing to do is, whether I should just back off for a bit, cut him off entirely and lose a really good friend, or just let it ride until things stabilize in both our lives. In my darkest moments, such as after our most recent acrimonious visit, I just want to tell him to leave me the hell alone, indefinitely. And because I am impatient and always want a quick resolution to conflicts, I am tempted to tell him this now, this afternoon, and let the chips fall where they may. Even though I also know that breaking up this friendship is probably a bad idea in the long run, for both of us. I'm frustrated by all these hurtful exchanges we have had lately and generally feeling pessimistic.
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