I have one request for the new year, I need people to stop freeloading on others emotional labor.

Your best friend will always be there for you and love you, but they are not your therapists.

I’ve had it happen for me and I’m sure that at one point, I did it to others.

Either way, that sort of behavior is unacceptable.

I think we’ve turned friendship into an all or nothing kind of deal, where at the slightest bit of antagonism or lack of yes saying, we “drop” the people that we say we care about.

Frankly, it is unhealthy to expect someone, regardless of how close you may be, to “be there” for you at all times.

It’s 2018 and it's about time we stop expecting a text back within a five-minute window. Or even expecting people to drop their world at a moment notice to pick up ours.

We all want to be good friends that are always there but as we get older, our lives start to change and at some point, our friends have to understand that we can’t keep expending ourselves in order to do that.

My biggest problem with these types of friendships is that there is always one person putting more work in than the other.

They’re the ones that will pick up the phone at four in the morning, pick you up when you decide to get drunk alone (they also pick up the mess), and undoubtedly go through the same conversations over and over again.

They are constantly being used because of their emotional stability or for the simple fact that they have their shit wrapped up just a bit tighter.

I have anxiety issues, I shut off my phone or my notifications multiple times a week.

I have to stay on top of myself DAILY so that I don’t fall back into unhealthy habits.

I don’t have the time to play nursemaid to a full-grown adult or even a daily basis, and I think most people would agree that I shouldn’t have to.

I don’t think anyone should have to, regardless of whether their issues are greater or smaller than mine.

We’re in college and things are just going to get harder, it's not fair to trap your friends or anyone else for that matter in a continuous pattern of free therapy.

It’s not fair to them and if you really need someone to talk to, seek out a professional, start a journal or a private blog.

Find an outlet that works for YOU and doesn’t leave others continuously working to make you better instead of themselves.

I don’t believe that we should all keep our feelings bottled up inside, because I know I’d hate it if one of my friends felt they could never go to me to seek out advice or a listening ear.

But I do believe that we should all be a little more aware of the strain we put on each other and the possible limits our friends have.