How much do you struggle to maintain friendships with people with mental health issues?

10 comments

1. One of the large problens people with certain mental health issues face is maintaining close relationships. If you feel like you’re struggling to keep a friendship going, it might be because your friend is in bad place with their mental health, and could probably use your support if you’re able to give it.

2. Very much depends on the issue. I’ve had friends with depression and I feel like I can hang out with them and be a good friend, although I can’t be their therapist. On the other hand, there’s a friend of a friend with anger issues who I really can’t deal with. You can be having a perfectly pleasant moment and then they’ll turn on a dime over the smallest thing. That’s just above my pay grade.

3. If they have similar issues and coping mechanisms, it’s ridiculously easy. Otherwise it’s simply impossible.

4. It’s important to set boundaries. As someone with mental health issues, people setting boundaries is helpful to me. It lets me know what I can do to not be a burden to them. We know we’re a drain, but it can be difficult to not be a drain.

5. Depends on a lot of stuff, but for the more severe stuff it’s are they going to therapy/being treated/getting it managed, or are you their therapist? If so it’s definitely a huge struggle, especially for someone untrained

6. I have a good friend that suffered some head trauma when he was younger. That coupled with several doctors screwing up diagnoses and medications and his addictive personality have left him pretty screwed up. Paranoid all the time, can’t hold a job or relationship for more than a few weeks at a time.

   When we were younger we were peas in a pod. Did everything together but now being around him is just….exhausting.

   I try to keep our interactions brief and only see him about once a month. I do try to text him, just to keep up and make sure he’s doing OK but he isn’t a good texter and would rather call.

   It’s tough but with “real life” (family, jobs, house) I just don’t have the time to dedicate to his needs. I hate it.

7. Trick answer, it’s not easy, I’m the one with mental health issues

8. Ask my friends.

9. It depends on the issue, but I just avoid hanging with people like entirely. Just have known way too many people who ended up pushing me away because they were not working on it and acted like they were never in the wrong.

10. Everybody has mental health issue, most people don’t recognise it