Bury the illusion. (excerpt from the Love Lust and Redemption sequel)

Sometimes you have to make people dead in your head. This doesn't mean you wish mortal death upon them or that you harbor hatred or unforgiveness towards them. It simply means the person you thought they were either no longer exists or never existed. Oftentimes when people show us who they are instead of believing them and fleeing when it's not to our standard we stick around and try to fix them and or change them and this will always result in failure and loads of unnecessary frustration.during that time of "sticking around" we create a illusion in our mind that if we continue to treat them good they will eventually reciprocate and love you the way you love them. This false illusion will keep you trapped  and you stay longer than you should. Once you realize the person can't be fixed and probably doesn't want to be you then have to embrace that the person you thought they were never really existed. Therefore they are dead. Once the relationship or friendship becomes toxic and unhealthy you must let them go to retain your sanity. Deeming them dead in your head just relieves you of having any type of expectation or thought of entertaining them. When a thought of them enters your brain you simply whisper dead and carry on with your day. Place all feelings you had for them in the coffin and bury them with all the rest of the rubbish that came along with their existence in your life.