Family, friends and understanding

[Truetomyself]

I have anxiety and severe depression.
I mainly have my counsellor and psychiatrist who help.
I have one aunt who completely understands as she has gone through the same as I have her whole life.
My family do not understand and I really only have one friend.
But as I have been in hospital. Many people do not want to be friends and have moved away from my life like I have the plague.
I hate having my mental illness and would do anything for it to go away.
I am struggling as I feel alone.
I just want to know how others have maybe dealt with these issues themselves and helped to form friendships. I am in my 30's and I am finding it lonely and hard.
I know I have those who I can lean on but I really wish I had more people in my life who are understand me.
Thanks

[white knight]

Hi welcome

It can be disappointing to have friend that don’t/won’t understand.

So let’s exsmine this issue. These friends don’t see broken limbs, they can’t see the injury/ disorder. So would it be easy to recognise it? They can’t provide crutches nor help lift you from a car so those practical things are often automatic for a physical injury not so for us.

Add to that they are if the majority, about 80% of all people have little knowledge or ability to emphasise with us.

So what are these friends to us?- they are friends just not close friends. There is a barrier there that stops further advancement of the relationship. You might have close friends like your auntie, but we should be careful not to have expectations of our friends when they don’t have the ability to comprehend. Keep those friendships and one day he/she might be struck down with depression and turn to you for help and help you can.

please google

beyondblue topic they just won’t understand- why?

beyondblue topic the good samaritan

TonyWK

[Truetomyself]

Thanks for your input.
I did do some researching on those Google's you mentioned and I did read and get something out of it.
I do try with people and never enforce them to understand but I do know my boundaries and who I can turn to.
I guess it is hard because in that group one girl suffers anxiety and one depression but I guess with girls it is a pack mentality. They don't express it and want my help but won't put it out in the open.
Never the less, it is all life and learning.

[white knight]

Yes, you’ll find girls/women support each other very well but men rarely do, although it is improving.

Im glad you benefitted from those threads. Doing such research is invaluable and you have the right attitude to go with it.

TonyWK