Life After Recovery

Can You Keep Friends When Life Gets Busy?

🚨 Truth Bomb: You’re Not Friends — You’re Just Hostages Let’s get brutally honest here: If your friendships feel like a chore, it’s because… they are a chore. You’re not building bonds — you’re serving sentences. I’ve had to face this personally after moving away from my cozy little recovery bubble. Life happened. I had to rebuild — career, relationship, family. And yeah, I became a ghost for a while. That’s on me. So before you go full “victim mode,” ask yourself: Have you shown up lately? Or are you expecting connection while giving out nothing but crickets? 🔬 Let’s break down the science: Anthropologist Robin Dunbar (yep, Dunbar’s number) says we can only manage about 150 meaningful relationships, with only 5 to 15 of those being true close friends. That’s it. That’s your cap. And if your inner circle is full of flaky energy vampires and walking red flags — guess what? You’re wasting slots on people who don’t even value their seat at your table. ✅ Stop chasing people who wouldn’t cross the street for you ✅ Do a friendship audit: who energizes you vs. who exhausts you? ✅ Own your role in the drift — and then decide if it’s worth fixing This isn’t bitterness — it’s boundaries. This is how you stop being a participant in your own neglect. 👇 Drop a comment: Who’s one “friend” you need to stop pretending is close?