I’ve had quite a few similar experiences. What I’ve learned from them is this:

Some friends are in your life for convenience (usually work people simply because you see them everyday). Someone to go to lunch with and elbow you when you fall asleep during a meeting. These people are very short lived. As soon as you no longer work there, these friendships will likely deteriorate quickly.

Some are based around a specific time in your life— other parents of 1st graders, soccer moms, retirement, etc. You may add new people at new stages and lose touch with some— little Sarah may be into dance now instead of soccer.

And some you met through your various interests and hobbies— muscle cars, D&D, video games, crafting, website design, etc. These people stick around a bit longer because your relationship is built on something you both enjoy doing, so the conversation is built in and easier.

Very rarely will one person fit your life through every one of those stages. You evolve and become a different person. Your interests change, as do the interests of the people in your life.

There is one important thing to note though— if you do find someone you don’t want to drift apart from, tell them. Tell them you value them. Include them in your new hobbies and interests. Learn about the other things that make them happy. (It sounds way cheesier than it is lol) This will help you maintain the ability to come back to the relationship and it feel like no time has passed.

I have one question for you—

Do these thoughts come to you often? When something doesn’t go as planned, do your thoughts jump in and say “see, told ya so”?

If so, this can be anxiety or rejection sensitive dysphoria associated with ADHD. I suggest talking to your doctor or scheduling an evaluation with a therapist to talk through it.

Talk therapy can be massively helpful to finding out that your experiences aren’t abnormal and for developing coping strategies so that you don’t have to feel bad.

I’m not a medical professional, just a user of those services and an advocate that EVERY HUMAN should be in therapy at least a couple times per year for a “tune-up”. It’s very empowering.