In order to understand more about friendship anxiety, I spoke to friendship expert and author of BFF? Claire Cohen, who told me: “There aren’t many situations in which I’d say to a woman that ‘it might all be in your head’. But, it might. Chances are, others in your friend group are feeling the same way, especially as we get older and things like job moves, new partners, children and relocating get in the way of being on hand for our friends as much as we once were.

“There are few friends with whom we remain on the exact same page throughout our lives, and if others in the group are more aligned, it can make your feelings of ‘otherness’ or not being liked even more pronounced. But the thing about life is that the pendulum always swings back; situations change, and you won’t feel this paranoia forever. Try to remember all the times your friends have valued your support and friendship, and the moments when they have been there for you. Would they really do that for someone they didn’t like?”

To find out if Claire was right, and whether this is indeed all in my head, I asked several of my friends if they considered me to be tier two. The answers were mixed. The majority laughed in my face and told me that I was insane, echoing what Claire said. They hang out with me because they love me, and if they didn’t, they wouldn’t. A couple of friends said that I’m not tier two, but we’re not as close as we once were. One (rather hurtfully) said that since I’d had a child, I was less available so she had ‘relegated’ me to tier two. And one friend said, if she was being honest, I’m “not a main character” for her because we don’t have much in common and she doesn’t feel I make much effort with her.

“Am I the friend that nobody likes?”: unpicking friendship anxiety and group insecurities