is it possible to remain friends with an ex?
is it possible to remain friends with someone you once cared deeply for/still care a lot about? my ex and i broke up two years ago, but i never really healed from the breakup because we never cut off contact completely - we would go for months without talking, and then INEVITABLY, someone starts the lines of communication again. this has been going on for 2 years and so while the wound was never allowed to properly heal, a lot of my insides have just died off, numb from all the pain i guess. during my more rational moments, i realize how sad it is that i have let this one relationship in my life hurt me so much.
i am now finally at the point where i feel like i will be fine if he is gone from my life forever, but he seems to still want a freindship. i just wish i knew what to do. a part of me really wants to be friends with him, like i am friends with my other guy friends. that part of me tells me that i am strong enough, but i don't know how much this strength can really hold up. can i really handle a friendship? can i handle seeing him with someone else if the situation arises? although i keep telling myself that i would be fine if i see him with someone else, i don't know how much i am lying to myself to protect myself from pain. so as much as i would love to be friends with him, i also know that i absolutely do not want to hurt anymore and by choosing to keep this freindship, i risk getting hurt everyday.
even as i type i find myself taking back my own words and feeling like i could never make it without him on my side as a friend. i dont know what to do. can i ever see him as just a friend without the emotional attachments? is this possible?