Monday, March 12, 2012

friend burnout

A few friends have told me about similar experiences with me recently. From my side all I see is, good friend tries to help me since they know my mental health got really bad. And then after a while, good friend gets too busy to hang out and eventually disappears. And then sometimes they come back to me and say sorry. Why sorry? They admitted to me that they really wanted to help me but couldn't figure out how, got frustrated and burnt out and decided to stay away for their own mental health. I was afraid that might happen and now it's happened with at least 3 of my good friends. It adds to my irrational fear that my illnesses and problems can be contagious if I get to know someone too closely. I'm always afraid that I'm a source of negative vibes for people around me. I guess it's understandable though. My experiences over the last three years have been traumatizing and of course, what you go through, your loved ones also partly go through as well. And believe me, anyone would have a hard time dealing with what I've had to deal with these past few years. But, withdrawing without saying anything to me just triggers my BPD more because I hate it when I perceive that someone is abandoning me. So I get upset, repress it and my mind automatically pretends you are dead to me. So, really if you are burning out trying to help me and solve my problems, tell me. And remember that I am not someone you need to somehow fix. My burdens are unfortunately, mine alone. The best way you can help someone in psychological distress is to just be there once in a while and simply listen when I need to express myself. Nothing more is necessary from friends of people going through hard times. You can do extra if you want but don't think you have to come up with solutions. The source of my suffering is complex and requires extensive professional treatment, something friends can't provide anyways. But friends have an important part of anyone's life, I still appreciate hanging out with friends, just having fun together helps.

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