Wow, this one cut close to the bone. I’m only slightly different: I don’t have too much trouble being vulnerable, and maybe as a result, I have a number of friends that are closer than acquaintances, but I’m terrible at maintaining them. My long-time friends are all either people who can go a long time without connecting and still feel close, or they’re the ones who are good about reaching out.
But all the stuff about being overly independent at an early age, preferring to just do things myself rather than ask for help, etc.: that’s all spot-on. I’m old - not sure how realistic it is for me to change something so fundamentally me.
Psychology says people who don’t maintain many close friends often learned independence too early
Well, if psychology says it’s true, then it must be.
The only sources the article cites (aside from the various links to other articles on the same site) are two Psychology Today articles:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-discomfort-zone/202407/interdependence-the-key-to-healthy-relationships https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-therapeutic-relationship/202309/balancing-attachment-and-autonomy
Neither of these are making the claim that “learning independence too early” has a causal relationship with not maintaining close friends (might be true, but it’s not being substantiated). Kind of makes me suspect it’s an AI generated article, since it consists of plausible-sounding content that is seemingly spun up out of nothing. The site seems to be publishing 20+ similar articles every day.
Hard disagree
