 Week two of our series Friend Zone features more great stories on the state of our friendships today. One piece that particularly resonates with me is from senior reporter Catherine Pearson about “mom friends.” Like Catherine, I’ve kept the same friends I had pre-kids, for the most part. But when having a baby, there’s this assumption that you’ll automatically make a group of “mom friends” — friends going through the same parenting challenges at the same time as you, who can commiserate during late-night feeding sessions and much-needed nights out.
That wasn’t the case for me, and I did feel sort of bad about not befriending the parents I met in a baby group I joined when my first kidwas born, at least in any real way. That’s why I found Catherine’s story so relatable, and hopefully you will do. If you’re in a different season of life, there is plenty more friendship content where that came from.
Xo, Ashley Rockman
In case you missed it  One of the most damaging phrases is a friendship is also one of the most common: Are you mad at me? Plans that fall through or texts that go unanswered have a myriad of explanations — most likely because we get busy — but automatically assuming a friend has an issue with you personally does not bode well for the relationship. As senior reporter Brittany Wong wrote, “This kind of guesswork and relationship catastrophizing hurts the bonds you share with family and friends. Ask someone if they’re mad at you for the umpteenth time, and they may very well end up mad at you, or at least severely annoyed by your neediness.”
FYI  If your friendships have slipped away recently, there could be an underlying cause: depression. Social withdrawal has always been a sign of mental health issues, but it’s a bit harder to pick-up on because of social distancing due to the pandemic. Of course, this behavior doesn’t always mean depression — there are plenty of impediments to seeing friends right now — but when coupled with some other symptoms, it’s important to take note and get help.
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