Friendships & Social Life

Friendships & Social Life

Friendships are a big part of feeling connected, understood, and supported. Living with CF can shape social experiences in unique ways, sometimes making friendships harder to maintain or form. Periods of illness, hospital stays, treatment routines, or fatigue may have meant missing school, work, or social events, which can affect how friendships develop over time. People change, groups move on, and it’s understandable to feel like you’ve missed shared experiences or moments of connection. Even when friends care deeply, they may not fully understand the impact of CF, particularly when its effects aren’t visible.

Some describe feeling out of step with others their age, or like they were watching friendships form around them without knowing how to join in. These experiences can shape confidence and comfort in social situations later, but they don’t define your ability to connect or belong.

As health improves, new possibilities can start to open. You may notice more energy, more time, greater physical freedom, and increased predictability in your health, making it easier to plan activities, reconnect with others, or explore interests that matter to you. These changes can create opportunities to strengthen existing friendships or build new ones.

At the same time, positive change can still feel big. Reconnecting socially after a period of illness or reduced participation can take time, and it’s common to feel unsure, awkward, or out of practice at first. This doesn’t mean something is wrong, it’s a normal response to change. You may be rediscovering what feels right for you now, which can bring mixed emotions: excitement alongside uncertainty, gratitude alongside questions about where you fit after a period of focusing on your health.

Sharing updates about your health or treatment can also be part of this adjustment. You might not want to explain everything, or you may feel unsure about how much others expect from you now that things are shifting. Many people find themselves balancing a genuine desire to connect with the need to protect their energy, privacy, and boundaries.

When you’re re-entering social circles, you might notice things like:

• Feeling awkward in conversations
• Doubting whether you still fit in
• Holding back from social situations because it feels unfamiliar or tiring

These experiences are common when re-entering social spaces after time away.

What might help:

• Ease in gradually, a one-on-one catch-up can feel easier than a big group
• Prepare a few simple responses to common questions (e.g. “Where have you been?” or “How are you going now?”)
• Give yourself permission to take breaks. Reconnecting takes energy, and it doesn’t need to happen all at once
• Remember you haven’t “fallen behind”, you’ve been living a different experience, and you still belong
• Connecting with others who understand CF, such as through CF Connect programs, can reduce isolation and help you feel less alone

Managing Expectations

Living with CF can come with a lot of unspoken expectations, both for the person with CF and for their family. Beyond community or cultural expectations, many people with CF and their families also experience personal and emotional pressures about how they should manage or feel. These unspoken expectations can affect relationships, confidence, and wellbeing. You are not responsible for managing other people’s reactions, expectations, or assumptions about your health. Your job is to look after yourself, communicate when you can, and set boundaries that feel right for you.

When health improves or becomes more stable, it’s easy for others to assume that everything is fine but managing those expectations can be complicated, especially when CF is not always visible.

For people with CF, you might:

• Feel pressure to “stay healthy” or keep your numbers up
• Worry about disappointing family, friends or health professionals if your health changes
• Struggle with feeling guilty or responsible for how your health affects your loved ones
• Feel like you have to act fine, even on tough days, because others expect you to be okay

For parents and carers, you might:

• Carry pressure to manage everything perfectly – treatments, appointments, diet, emotions
• Feel judged by others who don’t understand the hidden workload of CF
• Find it difficult to relax, even when things are going well, because you’re used to being vigilant
• Struggle to balance caring with giving space for independence

Tip: It’s okay to acknowledge that these expectations exist and that they can weigh heavily. You don’t have to meet every standard, or appear strong all the time, to be doing well.

What might help:

• Talk openly about how external expectations make you feel, honesty can relieve pressure for everyone
• Remind yourself (and each other) that health and emotions will naturally fluctuate
• Celebrate effort, not just outcomes, showing up and trying matters
• Reconnect with parts of yourself and your relationships that have nothing to do with health
• CFWA Events and CFWA supports for parents and other carers