Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

UNENJOYABLE
ENJOYABLE
The first category we label as “ideal
friends” because these relationships
are both healthy and enjoyable. In
an ideal world, the majority of our
relationships would fall into the
category of ideal friendships.
Waning Friendship
The second category we label as
“waning friendship” because these
friendships are still healthy but
not enjoyable anymore. Chances
are, this friendship was an ideal
friendship at some point and has
started to become less enjoyable
over time. There’s a wide range of
reasons why friendships may stop
being Figure enjoyable. 10.5. It’s Four possible Types that of
Friendships you no longer have the time to
invest in the friendship, so you find yourself regretting the amount of time and energy that’s necessary to
keep the friendship afloat.
The third category of friendship, classified as problematic friendships, is tricky because these are
enjoyable but not healthy for us. Ultimately, the friend we have could be a lot of fun to hang out with, but
they also could be more damaging to us as people. Instead of supporting us, they make fun of us. Instead
of treating us as equals, they hold all the power in the relationship. Instead of being honest, we always
know they’re lying to us. Ultimately, we must question why we decide to stay in these relationships.
The final category of friendships we may have is deviant friendships, more commonly referred to as
toxic friendships. For our purposes here, we use the term “deviant” because it refers to any behavior that
violates behavioral norms. In this case, any friendship situation that is clearly outside the parameters of
what is a healthy and enjoyable friendship is not the norm. Unfortunately, some people get so stuck in
these friendships that they stop realizing that these friendships aren’t normal at all. Other people may
think that their deviant friendships are the only kinds of friendships they can get and/or deserve. It’s
entirely possible that a deviant friendship started as perfectly healthy and normal, but often these were
somewhat problematic in their early stages and eventually progressed into fully deviant friendships.
Deviant Friends:
HEALTHY
Waning
Friendship
Ideal
Friendship
UNHEALTHY
Deviant
Friendship
Problematic
Friendship
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