To be fair, I'd understand if someone don't want to be close friends with someone with depression. In my worst days (depression and other stuff on top of it), I don't want to be in the company of anyone either. It would be very taxing to someone wanting to be close friends with me, so yeah, I'd understand why they'd just opt out of it and stay away.
Indeed. It's really sad how it happens: someone's depressed and is either too sad or irritated to be able to, or want to deal with anyone, which pushes people around them away—people who are in the best position to help them. Worse, while the depressed person can do something about it, the depression makes it hard to do anything about it! The path of least resistance is just to let people be repulsed. However, the path of least resistance leads downhill.
Divining the forces of depression (and in my case, the vagaries of bipolar disorder) is already taxing enough for myself, let alone for anyone around me who has no idea what's going on in my mind. Hence, I understand why someone would give up on me. It's not their fault, and I understand that. There's only so much people around me can do, and if my condition lightens up, it's on me to reach out, let people know that I'm better at the moment. And if I can, alert people whenever things are turning for the worse.
Having said all that, I'm not sure I understand what you meant by the latter part of your 2nd paragraph.
I think I get it, the gist of it anyways. I understood it as faring better in a more formal, but still being a social setting, e.g.: a mountaineering club meeting once a week, and occasionally goes up on group hikes. It's way easier to connect with someone in that situation, since there's already some common ground to stand on. It is a lot easier compared to trying to connect with a neighbor you know next to nothing about, much less a common ground.
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To be fair, I'd understand if someone don't want to be close friends with someone with depression. In my worst days (depression and other stuff on top of it), I don't want to be in the company of anyone either. It would be very taxing to someone wanting to be close friends with me, so yeah, I'd understand why they'd just opt out of it and stay away.
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Indeed. It's really sad how it happens: someone's depressed and is either too sad or irritated to be able to, or want to deal with anyone, which pushes people around them away—people who are in the best position to help them. Worse, while the depressed person can do something about it, the depression makes it hard to do anything about it! The path of least resistance is just to let people be repulsed. However, the path of least resistance leads downhill.
Divining the forces of depression (and in my case, the vagaries of bipolar disorder) is already taxing enough for myself, let alone for anyone around me who has no idea what's going on in my mind. Hence, I understand why someone would give up on me. It's not their fault, and I understand that. There's only so much people around me can do, and if my condition lightens up, it's on me to reach out, let people know that I'm better at the moment. And if I can, alert people whenever things are turning for the worse.
Having said all that, I'm not sure I understand what you meant by the latter part of your 2nd paragraph.
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I think I get it, the gist of it anyways. I understood it as faring better in a more formal, but still being a social setting, e.g.: a mountaineering club meeting once a week, and occasionally goes up on group hikes. It's way easier to connect with someone in that situation, since there's already some common ground to stand on. It is a lot easier compared to trying to connect with a neighbor you know next to nothing about, much less a common ground.
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And even if we do have things in common, unfortunately, at times it is not enough to build a friendship on.