Cutting people out of your life is one of the hardest things to do. I don't like burning bridges, but once it starts to affect your mental state, it's time to re-evaluate your relation you have with them. I had to cut out one of my closest friends and it was definitely a learning experience.

We were friends for years and talked to each other every day and almost every minute. We were always on the phone and hung out quite a lot. He became one of my closest friend who I told anything and everything. He knew things about me that people who knew my longer didn't know. He was always there for me. Everything was great until talking to him started to feel like a chore. He would always tell me how sad he was and all the negatives in his life which was okay for a while, but started to take a toll on my mental health. I started to feel upset all the time since he only would talk negatively.

I really started to feel like I was being dragged down. I would tell him how awesome my day was and how happy I was, but instead of reciprocating any of what I was saying to him, he would only talk about how bad he felt. Of course I wanted to be there for him, but I felt like I was more of a therapist rather than his friend. His negative mindset was really weighing me down. I decided to take a step back and talk to him less and that really made a difference in my life. At first it was hard. I felt like I was selfish and I shouldn't have cut him out of my life. I surrounded myself with positive people who told me I made the right choice and that I should take care of myself first. Like a plant, in order to flourish you have to get rid of all of the things that prevent you from growing.