Metadata
- Author: Gary Borjesson
- Full Title:: Friendship Begins at Home
- Category:: 🗞️Articles
- URL:: https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2025/10/friendship-begins-at-home.html
- Read date:: 2025-10-24
Highlights
I think of people I’ve known who end up in therapy because a friend or partner made it clear that the relationship would be over if they didn’t address their depression or anxiety or addiction—examples of how internal discord causes troubles for others. (View Highlight)
Think for example of some important partnerships or friendships in your life. Now ask yourself whether, overall, the relation is in a virtuous or vicious cycle, or holding pattern. When a friendship is going well, it’s typical to feel enlivened and empowered by it, and to seek more of the friend’s company. When it’s not, we often feel demoralized, even dragged down or made worse. For instance, someone trying to recover from an addiction is worsened by the company of a friend who is still using and encouraging them to start again. (View Highlight)
For introverts in therapy, it can be hard to accept that the path to being on better terms with ourselves leads through developing our relations with others. (View Highlight)
work. For extroverts, on the other hand, who tend to find being with others more attractive, the path often leads in the other direction, toward the solitude and introspection needed for getting to know and befriend themselves. (View Highlight)