Impacts of One Sided Friendship on Health

Friends can be such a beautiful component that enhances the flavor of life. The friendship can be such an important part of our life that can not just enlighten our days to pass much better but it impacts the health positively as well. Friendship is a bond that comes next after the family. They can be that source of support on which you learn to walk in your path of life. However, the friendship may not always be positive. There also exists a kind of friendship called one sided friendship.

The one-sided friendship may not be as fascinating as the friendship you have always thought to be good and friendly.

Understanding One sided friendship

One-sided friendship can be simply understood from the word itself. To be friends there needs to be a mutual understanding and relationship between both individuals.

But when we talk about one sided friendship, well it is just one person involved out there. Just one person is in the friendship who tries hard to maintain the friend bond in between. This one-sided friendship may be a toxic way to invade you and your health.

Signs of One-sided Friendship

We think the ones we talk good, act good, smile, and laugh together, they all are our friends. But you may not know that it is just you who like them and consider them as your friend. The same may not be applicable from the other end, which means this is a one sided friendship.

But then the question may be, ‘How do I know whether the friendship is one-sided friendship or not?’

Surely there are signs that you need to know and recognize so that you can secure yourself in the safety of a healthy friendship bond. There are some signs that if you look closely and analyze, you will know its denoting a one-sided friendship.

1. Level of Convenience

Is it always that you chose to go to places your friend likes? Is it that your friend always makes the plan and calls you in when it suits them?

This may seem like a coincidence but it’s a tricky way to portray the one-sided friendship that is occurring. Look closely you will know how your friend is always doing things that are convenient for them and not you. Sometimes these happen but if it’s constant then it’s a sign of your one-sided friendship.

2. Letting you down

Friends are supposed to be appreciating each other, laughing at each other’s jokes, and celebrating the friendship together. But notice when the joke turns bad and you are the joke being made. Your friend has let you down in front of others. Friendship needs to have a level of care, respect, and trust but One sided friendship doesn’t offer this privilege.

3. Efforts for Friendship

Are you just the one who buys gifts for your friend? Are you the one who is always worried that your friend may be unhappy? Are you the one who tries hard to make your friendship workout?

It’s visible that this is a one sided friendship. Everyone has their own time and life, but if you are the only one making the effort to give time, rethink about one-sided friendship at once.

4. Always about them

Have you ever stopped to think about how much balance is there in your friendship? What do you talk about when you hang out? Your as well as their lives or is it just them?

Sure, when there are struggles, you tell them more. But when they are just on about their struggles, you’re not mattering at all. This is where you need to make sure you analyze that the one sided friendship has made an unbalanced bonding between your friend and you.

You may be the victim of one-sided friendship for a long time when you know.

Health Impacts of One sided friendship

One-sided friendship isn’t much of a benefit to our life. While we are saying that the one-sided friendship is toxic, we also need to know the reason behind the toxicity. It is no just hazardous to life but impacts our health as well.

1. Mental Health Impact:

Often the first and most fragile part to be affected is the mind. Your mental health can deteriorate to a considerable amount because of the one-sided friendship.

• Increased Anxiousness about friendship
• Feeling depressed when a friend doesn’t respond
• Mood Swings
• Self Blaming
• Lack of interest in activities without a friend
• Unsettled peace of mind
• Disorientation in mind

2. Chronic Health Impacts

The one sided friendship can indirectly also give rise to chronic health impacts because of the impact on metabolism such as

• Heart Diseases
• Diabetes
• Clinical depression
• Cancer
• Obesity

3. Behavioral Health Impact

It is not just mental health, even you may experience a change in the behaviour in yourself. Some behavioural health impact of one-sided friendship may be;

• Self Isolation
• Social Distanced
• Alcoholism
• Smoking and Drug abuse
• Loss of appetite
• Aggressive behavior
• Changed sleep patterns
• Risky behaviors
• Attention seeking activities
• Self Harm activities
• Overeating

4. Physical Health Impacts

One-sided friendship can also make your physical body go weak. It may invite several physical infirmities knowingly, unknowingly. Some of the health impacts may include

• Increased heart rate
• Not sleeping
• Oversleeping
• Fatigues
• Prone to accidents
• Disoriented Movements of the body
• Lack of coordination while working
• Muscular pains
• Joint pains
• Headaches
• Inactive body

5. Emotional Health Impacts

One of the most affected parts is the emotional state of the mind. A one-sided friendship can completely break your emotional state making you feel

• Emotionally drained
• Feeling to cry
• Anger
• Sadness to a high extent
• Heaviness in the heart
• Overthinking
• A constant struggle to collect your thoughts
• Negative thinking

Takeaway

Elanor Roosevelt has quoted, ‘ No relationship in this world ever remains warm and close unless good efforts are made on both sides to keep it up.’

In the perfect friendship, the two of you work hard to balance each other. But if it’s a one-sided friendship, you are in for a lonely ride in the journey of your relationship with your friend.