“My New Friend Keeps Discussing Her Depression”
This is tricky because you are new friends still learning about each other, getting to know one another, and figuring out whether you are compatible. It may simply be a matter of incompatibility, but if there’s enough you like about this woman and enough that you share in common, it would be worth extending yourself to ask how you might be of support to her. Maybe she has a concrete answer. Maybe she just needs someone to listen to her. But you’re not her therapist, and your friendship shouldn’t be solely based on your serving as her sounding board.
If she doesn’t have many friends and there isn’t family nearby supporting her, and she’s telling you both that her partner has been negligent in the past and her depression was so bad she required hospitalization (assuming that’s why she was hospitalized), it’s worth trying to find out if she’s in any danger at home. I understand that you feel like you don’t know her family well enough to interfere, but she sure is trying to share a lot about herself in an effort to make you more familiae. This may be her attempt to get help, so ask her if there’s anything you can do for her. If she doesn’t bite and if this budding friendship leaves you feeling exhausted or like you’re giving more than you’re getting, it’s ok to move on or to make yourself less available for hanging out.
If you have a relationship/dating question I can help answer, you can send me your letters at [email protected].
