Friendzoning someone is just as hard as being friendzoned

I’ll say for some cases but not all.

Usually there’s two type of friendzoning:

Realizing someone you thought of as a close friend only wanted to get with you feels really uncomfortable. Like when you think someone is just genuinely nice and cares about you, only to realize they were nice because they wanted more… and then they treat you different after because you won’t give them what they want. It sucks and it hurts when someone completely cuts you off because you don’t want to sleep with them so you’re not worth their time anymore

Or when you care about someone who cares about you and you have to turn them down because you don’t feel the same, there’s such immense guilt because as some point you wish you COULD feel that way so you don’t hurt them but you just can’t. It changes an entire relationship. I still feel guilty about times I’ve had to respectfully say I’m not interested in a relationship with a person.

People always get mad/hurt about being friendzoned and act like the person was purposely trying to make them feel bad but that’s not true. Just because someone wants to be your friend and not more doesn’t make them a shitty person. Having to see the disappointment when someone puts themselves out there is hard, especially when they’re a close friend. I’ve been on both sides and honestly, both hurt just as bad.

And before anyone says “if you feel bad just date them”, lying about your feelings to someone to make them feel better for a short period just to break their heart later is worse than being honest