I recently read an article at Esquire.com stating that if you're friends with your ex, you might possibly be a psychopath. Now, I do agree that in some cases you are better off not being friends with your ex, but I also take offense to that comment. I, myself, have been -- and am -- friends with exes and I do believe that it is a possibility that you can have a friendship.

The article goes on to explain how researchers have come to this conclusion and talks about something called the dark triad. It's several negative traits that one has that makes it hard to date or harder to stop dating. Traits like: narcissism, psychopathy, self-admiration, insensitivity, and manipulation. Yes, I do believe that some people who have these such negative traits will keep exes around purely for their gain and also, as the article says, for sexual advances. This may be true in some cases, but I think it's wrong to say that you have a chance of being a psychopath just because you're friends with an ex.

We go through our lives dating numerous people and sometimes it just doesn't work out, but that doesn't mean that we will never speak to our exes again. When you date someone, you care for them and have feelings and sometimes you fall in love with them. Regardless of how it ended, you always care for the person that once was yours. You knew each other on a personal level and knew things about them that most people don't know. So why is there such a negative connotation around the issue of being friends with an ex?

It doesn't always work out being friends, but what if you do and it works out better than when you were in a relationship? There's less pressure and you're more free to be the exact person you are. If you keep boundaries and are clear in your intentions, there shouldn't be an issue about it. Especially not to say that you do have a chance of being a psychopath. I think saying that is absolutely ridiculous. The article ends with saying that if the person you're dating is still friends with their ex, you should run and if it's you, then you need to get checked out. Seriously? Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinion and researchers can do their research, but why was this an issue that needed to be researched in the first place?

So, dear Esquire and researchers at Oakland University, I am not a psychopath, nor have I met anyone who is friends with their exes that is one. I respect your research, but I have to disagree.