Why can't I just let go of them, even if they've hurt me?

I guess that is normal. All of us spend most of our time with them, so we are emotionally or even physically attached to them. Their presence its there with you and me. I guess the best way is to live or work in a new environment :)

One of the most mature things one can do is forgive those that hurt them. If you feel it is best and your only option to drop them, it is understandable. But it is even more challenging and brave to pick up the broken pieces and put them back together.

Most people find that holding on is easier than letting go. You are afraid to let go, because you deeply care for that person. Just embrace them being gone. You can, you just, deep down, do not want to.

You can't let go because you are the person with emotions and because loved them too much to let go.

I’ve had the same problem, I understand how you feel. There’s this metaphor I like to say to my friends, that sometimes it’s like being a dog. Sometime you accidentally step in your dog’s tail, and it still loves you. There’s this idea of unconditional love, that’s keeps you going back to somebody who has hurt you. I don’t know your exact situation, but if it isn’t healthy for you- leave. You can still care for somebody, and separate yourself from them because it’s whats best for you. And yes, it’s hard to let go of them. It’s going to feel like losing a piece of yourself in a way, but you’ll heal, and despite how it seems, you’ll be okay.

Maybe because you care about them??

The people who reach out for help are hurting, confused, or ashamed. Sometimes they need the perspective of a good listener to help them choose correctly for themselves. For a listener to let them go, it would only cause their wounds to be worse than before. Even if the person seeking help lashes out, we must not take it personally. Anger is often a part of the healing process. It comes about when the person seeking helps faces their fear, doubts or feelings guilt. Often lashing out is the sign that a breakthrough is near. A sign that we’re helping.

Letting go of someone is not easy. It is a process to let go of someone. Letting go of someone is a form of loss and all losses need a period of grieving. Even if someone has hurt us, our hearts will still miss who they were in our lives, sometimes the hurt can make it even harder because of the pain that is carried too. It is important to be gentle with yourself and allow yourself this time to grieve what was*. It is also important to give yourself some understanding and compassion as to why you are struggling to let go, to explore those parts of yourself in order to truly let go.