I guess I will start out by saying that I view friendship as a relationship of mutual give and take. Basically like you have each other's back when things are tough (my personal definition, of course).

I have this "friend" (I use that term loosely) that I have a really hard time distancing myself from.

I know this may sound selfish or harsh, but I have basically reached my end with this person. It is not that she is a horrible person. It's just that the friendship is all about what I can do for her. When things are going well for her or she doesn't need a ride to go somewhere, then I don't hear from her for long stretches at a time. It's like she doesn't even consider that someone other than her has emotional needs.

I have sat on the phone and in person with her and listened for what seemed like hours on end listening to her go on and on about things that piss her off or injustices that she has perceived to have been perpetrated against her. I have done that thinking that maybe she would return the favor sometime when I'm at my weakest.

In the last few months I have had a couple of really traumatic things happen to me. She would say that she would be there for me if I would come pick her up. I would go pick her up in an all out crisis thinking that I was going to finally get some support from her. Both times I did that, I was left to listen to her go on and on again. Both times she would apologize for venting so much to me. She would say that she thought that it would take my mind off of what I was going through IN THAT VERY MOMENT. Then she would say how tired she was from all of the stress she is under and ask me to take her home.

I feel like she just uses me much the same way a john uses a prostitute. When she is finished getting her release then she gets up and leaves me feeling inconsequential.

I'm wondering if others have people like that in their lives and how they deal with it?