It's natural and healthy to have sympathy for your friends and loved ones when they are going through tough times. After all, in our difficult hours, we need our friends to be present and understanding so we can endure. Psychology professor Daryl R. Van Tongeren, Ph.D., notes, "When going through challenges, social support is key. Sharing your feelings, gaining support from friends and family, and having people there to make sure you take care of yourself are important in this process. It's best when we don't have to go through this alone."

But sometimes, sympathy can turn into pity, and if that pity is the only reason you are spending time with someone, that friendship likely is not going to last. This is fundamentally because people do not like to be pitied. According to Dr. Aaron Ben-Zeev, "Owing to the belief in the other's inferiority, pity may easily insult or humiliate the recipient. Indeed, pity is often associated with the ridiculous. That is why most people do not like to be pitied." Bearing this in mind, it's easy to see feeling sorry for someone is not a good thing to build a relationship on, so it's best to discontinue the friendship and move on.