r/adhdwomen•
succceeding

Is this a one-sided friendship?

Rant/Vent

I'm an AuDHD (hyperactive, NB26), my childhood best friend has inattentive ADHD (F26). We're friends for 14 years.

Nowadays, I feel like she only keeps in touch with me when she needs something. Barely any invitations to simply hangout or asking how i'm going. It's always me who reach out first.

I feel guilty about this because probably this is actually not true. She is in an extremely unfortunate condition herself right now and I try to always be there for her.

She lost her job like 2y ago & is still suing the company. Her visa has expired for more than a year (bc she didn't finish her master + decided to do au pair for 1 year in another EU country instead of renewing her student visa). She's basically jobless and has been sleeping from a friend's couch to another. She is a mess administratively bc of her ADHD & major burnout episode from her last job.

She also hates living in the city we used to live in tgt because she keeps encountering the worst types of people out there. Narcissists, opportunists, constantly taking advantage out of her since she is a total yes man. She moved back to the city where she did the au pair last year & to meet all of her other friends she doesn't have beef with. I'm glad for that.

Now, after all of these problems. She ONLY contacts me when she needs something: borrow some money, crash at my place, administrative stuff. But no hangouts, no picnics, no other simple stuff that actual friends would do. I'm always there anw, to push and motivate her to stop being friends with worst people and to start regaining her life again. But this sucks because I think she is rarely there when I also need support. Everytime we meet, she only talks about herself, about her stories, about her struggles, and I will have 30% of the discussions to talk about myself. Sometimes, it tires me a bit, especially when another person is present between us. Our discussions feel very centered around her. Or sometimes, she won't tell me things and will tell me weeks or months after. It feels like she is hiding a lot of things from me.

So, is she only taking advantage out of me these days? Am I wrong for thinking that our friendship feels extra one-sided these days? I feel super bad thinking this way, bc I'm well conscious that she isn't in a good place. Bc of her ADHD, she also barely replies to anyone, and I'm one of the very few exceptions. On the other hand, she also meets other people casually but with me. Is it because we don't share same interests anymore? Also, the fact that she keeps encountering the worst type of people speaks volume about herself; maybe it's not entirely these people's fault that cause the whole unfortunate situations she's in?

Are things also related to the fact that she has ADHD? Can someone please enlighten me? I've had this thought for more than one year now.

Posted May 1, 2026, 5:45 PM UTC

04
Loading comments…