I am lately remembering being misunderstood and painted as a "bad friend" by a cruel and vindictive former friend. He said a lot of mean and horrible things to me, and I didn't deserve it. Basically, he believed I wasn't supportive when his fiancee cheated on him. I wasn't trying to be insensitive, but my cousin had died around the same time and I couldn't do emotional labor for two people at once.
I tried to explain this to him but he was very unreasonable and didn't want to listen. I apologized, but instead of helping me rebuild the friendship, he decided to get revenge on me by being mean to me.
This happened 10 years ago. Now that I am in therapy, I'm revisiting it and dwelling on it. What he did to me was really unfair, but there's no way I can change it now.
How can I cope with these feelings and stop wasting energy on this guy? It's easier said than done.