This is something I wish I knew earlier. But I think I know now that the way to have long lasting friendships is to listen more than you talk and to give more than you receive. What do you guys think?

I definitely think that that is part of it as well as making sure the people you're trying to be friends with have the same values as you besides the surface level commonalities.

So my therapist is always like, Brittany, stop using trauma bonding as a way to make friends. But I gotta say, it's had a pretty good fucking success rate.

I agree with this, and another thing that I've learned through my friendship experience is sometimes you guys need some space to breathe, and that doesn't mean you're not friends anymore. It just means that you'll come back to each other later, and things will be just the way they were, but sometimes things need time to relax.

Honestly, at this point in this world, coming off a long-term friendship today, I can tell you for sure you don't want long-lasting friendships.