Freepik/Reddit
As someone who’s been affected by friends’ mental health struggles more than once, I know how important it is to protect your own.
But the woman in today’s story is asking the internet if she made a mistake by establishing a boundary when a friend was in the middle of a mental health crisis and asking for her help.
Would you have done something differently?
Let’s read the whole story and the comments.
I (F27) have been best friends with someone for 15 years.
She was going through a mental health crisis and asked me to stay the night (or even a week).
I told her I’d hang out with her but couldn’t do sleepovers.
She didn’t accept that, went to the hospital, and when she got back she kept pressuring me to stay overnight.
She cares about her friend, but she just couldn’t do that.
I still offered to hang out and talk on the phone, but because she kept begging/pressuring me, I pulled back from hanging out altogether.
Eventually, she decided I was a bad friend and cut me off.
I don’t think I was wrong. I was respecting my own boundaries.
I’m introverted, sleep best at home, and I’ve supported her through past crises.
But now that she’s stopped talking to me, I feel guilty.
AITA?
It’s a fine line between actually helping and enabling a pattern.
Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this.
Here’s a reasonable take.
And here’s a different perspective.
Food for thought.
You need to protect your own mental health.
This person doesn’t beat around the bush.
At the end of the day, each person is responsible for their own mental health.
If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.