As with any type of relationship, friendships vary according to quality, and it's the quality factor that many friends struggle with most when questioning whether they want to—or should—continue a particular friendship that's causing them strife.

Consulting a simple checklist of questions about such a friendship can help determine whether a friendship is worth maintaining, which means one that has an overall positive effect on your mood and mental health. The purpose of friendship, unlike other relationship types, is simple: to provide comfort and support. Ensuring a supportive friendship is important because good social support is associated with overall health and mental health. Specifically, what is important is the belief in the existence of social support (Morowatisharifabad & Tonekaboni, 2007).

Consider your friendship and ask yourself how often you feel upset as a result of interactions with them, as well as how intense some of the interactions have been. Were recent upsetting episodes simply annoying and bothersome, or were they extremely upsetting? Were you able to move past your feelings in the moment, or did your central nervous system react (increased heart rate, flushing of the face, and so forth)? If you detect any sort of pattern of upset interactions that cause an actual fight-or-flight response (more than one such episode), the friendship may have more of a negative impact on your mental health than a positive one.

Interactions with a friend can be upsetting for various reasons. One frequent problem in unhealthy relationships........

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