You're not losing friends, my love, you'r just distancing yourself for a while. Do whatever it takes to protect yourself. But every now and again, take a deep breath, and try something that you think might be too hard. The elation of conquering it might just be what makes it a teeny bit easier next time. And if it's not, don't do it again. You might need a little shift in who your friends are. The really good ones will be supportive, no matter what. There's others who will be hard to be with now, but down the track, you'll go back to them and everything will be fine again. Anyone who gets hung up on it is not worth hanging on to anyway.