This is NPR's Life Kit, with tools to help you get it together.

Have you ever found yourself checking your phone to see if someone you care about, texted or called?

That anxious feeling of every time your phone buzzes, you think,

maybe it's them.

Or on the flip side, I hope it isn't them.

I'm not ready to deal with all of these emotions.

Typically, that type of drama and rollercoaster of emotions

is reserved for dating and romantic relationships.

But for me, it happened with a friend,

someone who had been a really close, long-term friend.

We started to drift apart and I could tell, but I didn't want to accept it,

so I shrugged it off.

First, the phone calls became less and less.

Our usual hangouts went from monthly to just once in a blue moon.

Neither of us said anything to the other.

We both just slipped out of each other's lives.

I hate to admit it, but I haven't been the same since.

I feel like I haven't really processed the loss.

When we lose friends, we have trouble processing the loss

because society doesn't value the loss.

Part of the ways we grieve is people around us saying,

I'm so sorry for your loss.

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