Once you’re vaccinated and are allowed to go out, you realize you haven’t spoken to a lot of people in a year and a half. Yet, you prefer to keep it that way. Should you feel bad about it? Friendship is good for our health but experts say that it’s natural for acquaintances or friends to fall out with each other, and there’s no need to be upset.

Counseling professor Suzanne Degges-White says that “Not every friendship is meant to last forever.” If you have a friend you haven’t kept in touch with during the pandemic and vice versa, believe what your gut feeling is telling you. Six months from now, ask yourself if it would upset you if you and your friend no longer talk. San Francisco-based author and friendship specialist Shasta Nelson agrees. Life circumstances such as changing jobs or moving cities—and this pandemic—change our friendship network. This is what Degges-White calls “friendscape:” choosing who we want to be surrounded with. Since we have a limited range on who to keep in touch with, it’s normal to narrow the friendships we had.

The pandemic brought a drastic change to our social lives and how to approach relationships. Experts suggest to not end relationships but do not feel obligated to fit everyone back into your life, either. The last 15 months have been unexpected, so forgive yourself and others.