DEAR CAROL: A Friend Who's Concerned About My Looks

Dear Carol,

One of my friends is always worried about what I look like, how I’m dressed or how I did my hair. I always tell her to worry about herself, but she says she doesn’t need to.

Everybody says she treats me like dirt, but I can’t stop being her friend because we’ve been friends for seven years. What should I do?

—Confused

Dear Confused: It is nice to have old friends, but it sounds as though yours is going through an annoying phase! Tell her once again that you use a mirror, thank you, and that unless she’s going to compliment you, she should keep her remarks to herself because they are making you want to avoid her.

She’s probably hurling insults because she is insecure, so if you feel like being mature and complimenting her, go for it. But if you’d rather just keep your distance for now and get closer to others, that’s fair too. The main point is this: If she’s unpleasant, let that be her problem, not yours.

POSTED ON 3/6/2010 7:00:00 AM

POSTED IN bad friend, my BFF is so bossy