Sure.
I don't know if there is a way for you to get over somebody while still staying in contact with them, though. I don't know what kind of person you are, your character strength, your focus, your abilities, whatever.

Relationships (as it relates here) are just your brain building memories and associating emotions with those memories.

Memories are extremely pliable and unreliable. Ask any witness to a crime, or a cop regarding eye witnesses.

What are your strongest, most emotionally laden, memories of the person you are not "over."

Recreate those memories with something/someone else. Preferably with similar or greater emotional (more recent) attachment.
Or with multiple people to a lesser emotional degree.

IOW pay attention to the sayings "to get over someone old, get under someone new."
Or alcoholics that turn to AA, overeating, smoking and/or religion tend to be more successful than those that don't find a more healthy or less harmful addiction.
Or look at heroin addicts, given methodone in the detoxifying process, before adding programs and goals to their life, creating absolute boundaries of "no more heroin."

Use the same process, let the process become your life rather than a liferaft to escape your life.

The biggest factor is if you can actually set boundaries and then stick to them, if you can set goals to replace whatever your "friend" fulfills with other things.


Not really.
Only in the sense that "friend" is a vague relationship label that can mean anything you want.
It only offers generally positive connotations that you can hide behind.
Relationships have boundaries. The boundaries with your "friend" seem to be arbitrary based on immediate emotional/social/physical needs.
IMO a better descriptor of your relationship would be convenient user/dealer security blanket, where you both fulfill that role for each other and pay for it through shallow emotional attachment, possibly to avoid a more scary world.

Latching on to someone for ten years? Wow. Maybe you'd want to be totally honest with yourself and ask yourself why you are doing this. What are you afraid of when you let go of that obsession? What do you gain by latching on?
The answers to such questions are the way to get over it. And it's not getting over love, it's about getting over an obsession and latching on to someone. That has nothing to do with love.

Really a shame, as you could've been happy, either as a single man or in an adult more mature relationship. Now you're pining over puppy love, cos sorry to say, kiddie teenage love is puppy love.

hhhmmm ok lets wait for the opinions to come in ... welcome to mingle land