Thank you so much, Kellen! And thank you for sharing that--I think that is really beautifully said. It can feel so confusing and traumatic and I can totally empathize with what you said in the sense of not wanting to open myself up again after these kinds of things happen. Even now I am coping with this gnawing feeling "well if friendship is so meaningless to everyone else, why should I ever bother trying to make any more new friends?" and it's really alienating. I know it's not true but it still hurts. I probably need to reach out to my therapist again to process this more because it really is painful.

I want to share what someone I love said to me about this situation because it did help:

"I think it helps to remember that ghosting is not a reflection of the person being ghosted but a reflection of a person who is not willing or able to give them the respect they deserve. That being said, it still sucks and it's hard not to take personally on a million different levels."

I really believe this is 100% true. And there's all the other things that I am sure we both intuit about how we should focus on the people who love us as we are, yada yada yada, but the pain and the fear of getting hurt again are very real. I wish people had more of a consciousness for the humanity of others. When we get hurt, there are scars, and those require tending to :(

Sending you lots of love and healing! May you be surrounded by relationships/people who treat you with respect and love and dignity, and who appreciate you just as you are.