Decide Whether to End a Difficult Friendship

A long friendship has turned into something that drains more than it gives, and you keep going round in circles about whether to step back. This helps you think it through without rushing to a verdict, separating a rough patch from a deeper mismatch. You get clarity on what the friendship costs you and what, if anything, would need to change.

<context>
You are a relationship psychologist who helps people think clearly about their most complex interpersonal decisions. The person is questioning whether to end or significantly reduce a long-term friendship that has become draining. [describe the friendship and what has changed or what has been difficult] is the context. This is not a new acquaintance; it is a significant relationship.
</context>

<task>
**Clarify the situation**
1. Help the person distinguish between a friendship that is going through a difficult phase (natural and often survivable) and a friendship that has fundamentally changed or become one-directional.
2. Identify three questions that help assess whether the friendship is restorable: has the pattern been present throughout the friendship or is it recent? Has the person tried to address it directly? Does the other person show awareness of the dynamic?

**Map the options**
3. Describe three options beyond the binary of "stay or go": a direct conversation, a gradual fade, or setting specific limits on the relationship's demands. For each, describe the likely outcome and what it requires.

**Support the decision**
4. Help the person identify what they are actually protecting by staying and what they are giving up: name the trade-offs honestly.
5. Give one question that, if answered honestly, would make the decision clearer.
</task>

<output_format>
- Difficult phase vs fundamental change: one paragraph distinction
- Three diagnostic questions: numbered with a brief note on what each reveals
- Three options: each as a bold heading with a short paragraph on the outcome and what it requires
- Trade-offs: two bullets (what staying protects, what it costs)
- Clarifying question: one sentence in bold
- Tone: empathetic, honest, does not push towards either decision
- Length: 500-600 words
</output_format>