If that can help you, I learned that most "gone" friendships are not really dead and can be reactivated.
I’ve talked back to a few friends I lost for years and it was hard because I’m actually pretty sensitive to rejection. To what should not be my surprise, not a single one rejected me and all of them where happy to be in contact again.
And you can even re grow friendships. Actually one of my best friends today is someone I lost contact with for about a decade. This relation was so lost to me that I didn’t even bother to invite him to my marriage. And now we see each other every week since the last 5 years.
That’s one case where I did the effort to build back the relation. But that was worth it and was way easier than a new friendship.
It looks like if anything is universal it’s both that most people somehow miss their old friends and that most people are feeling more or less lonely.
I’ve talked back to a few friends I lost for years and it was hard because I’m actually pretty sensitive to rejection. To what should not be my surprise, not a single one rejected me and all of them where happy to be in contact again.
And you can even re grow friendships. Actually one of my best friends today is someone I lost contact with for about a decade. This relation was so lost to me that I didn’t even bother to invite him to my marriage. And now we see each other every week since the last 5 years.
That’s one case where I did the effort to build back the relation. But that was worth it and was way easier than a new friendship.
It looks like if anything is universal it’s both that most people somehow miss their old friends and that most people are feeling more or less lonely.