I've had a friend for a few years and lately I have been wanting to let him go. But then we talk it over and I end up taking him back. He's the only friend I have and it's hard for me to make new friends, which is difficult to replace him like I had wanted to. The problem with him is that he criticizes constantly.

Lots of times lately when I talk to him about general things he manages to find something to be negative about. It would be about things I'm proposing to do in the future. But mostly he criticizes my persona; the way I am as a person. I'm introverted and he's not. So we clash a lot about how I've handled things with other people. Whenever I have something to say that's critical for him, and I think it would do him some good, he gets defensive. There are many nights I can't sleep well because I'm thinking about what he said and it had upset me.

I know it's good to hear from others as to what we'd be doing that's wrong, and we're not perfect. But with him, it's very constant. With me, whenever I get into conversations with others, I avoid being directly critical with them. There had been times I have done it, but not very often.

Just recently I spoke to him and he said that he wants to hang on as long as possible. But he does not want to do away with criticizing me. I prefer to hang on to him if he could not be so critical. I understand I may need to hear some of it. I am sensitive to personal criticizing.

Is he correct that I should hang on to him without him criticizing? I prefer not to, but he's all that I have. I've had other friends in the past and they didn't criticize me nearly as much as he has.