Dear Oracle,
My friends always exclude me and leave me out. How do you leave a toxic friend group?
—Concerned Student
Dear Concerned Student,
We’ve all been there — it’s tough to leave a toxic friendship,
and it can often feel like navigating a minefield. It’s important to remember that you deserve happiness, so though it may feel scary to leave, it will be worth it in the end.
We’d recommend making plans with yourself — learn what you like to do outside of your friend group, whether that be art, sports, or going to places by yourself just to have fun. Having spaces where you’re not in that toxic environment, branching out and making friends in new communities can also help you ease out of a toxic friendship. The Oracle also sought advice for you from Tatum Ochoa O’Sullivan, a social worker with an office in the 50s building. “It is okay for you to leave mentally and emotionally before you leave physically”. She said.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, it’s a human situation,”
Ochoa O’Sullivan said. “You deserve people in your life who are going to include you and consider you — there are nine billion people on this planet, and you’re going to find your people.”
The Oracle would like to offer
more advice to students. Use this
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