That's right!

It makes the depression more bearable. Most things in life are easier with the buddy system.

yes, with a true friend on your side everything looks like more soft, even the difficult things of life

That's exactly how I feel! A true friend is a soft place to land when life knocks you down.

...now I'm worried that my friends aren't true friends... because I'm still very depressed...

I never had friends in my life. So i understand
Only here i found friends..

Your point is well made. Indeed one of the common fallacies of romantic love is that such relationships solve all other problems in a person's life. That's not relevant here, but it's dangerous to expect too much of (or pin too much on) any relationship.

You're right... I feel like I'm held to such high standards, and get heartbroken when I can't meet them...

What's worse is people have started joking about me being "The Rizzler" because I have a (fool's) gold watch and most of my friends are girls... it hurts a lot...

Wisdom from Calvin and Hobbes

But how? I don't even know why their expectations are so high to begin with...

It doesn't really matter--their expectations are on them. When it comes to what other people expect of me, I've made a religion of carving out enough elbow room so I can breathe comfortably. I calibrate the expectations of friends and family to accept that I do things on my own terms. Sometimes that means ignoring my phone, bowing out of events, canceling plans, etc. I refuse to be beholden to other people's priorities.

And therein lies my problem - I'm too altruistic to forgo previous engagements, ignore phone calls, etc. It doesn't sit right with me - never has.

Is that a bad thing...?

No...although it's good to recognize when you're over your limit so you don't overextend yourself too much. Challenging yourself is good to a point is beneficial, but beyond a certain point can be damaging. Think knowing when it's appropriate to call in sick.

I have trouble with that... a quote I heard on one of my shows really stuck with me: "The Helper seeks to help because he knows what it is like to be helpless."

I guess I just don't want people to get the wrong idea about me... so I try to be as helpful as I can... without a thought as to how it could affect things in the future...

Ah. I have a video to share with you. I would have benefitted greatly from seeing it much sooner than I did.

https://youtu.be/YyXRYgjQXX0

Thank you... I followed you, can we talk in a memechat later?

As for people dissing you, that says more about them than it does about you. I do wish I had advice for how to keep their prattling from getting to you, but I'm still working on that myself.

They're not dissing me... as far as I can tell, it's supposed to be a good thing... but I just don't see it that way because of how many times I've been heartbroken...

Oh. I never practiced exposure therapy in my own life but looking back I kind of wish I had. Getting rejected more frequently might have demystifyed it, enabling me to persevere and keep looking. Maybe it would have just devalued relationships in my eyes, I don't know.

You would be a great therapist hannibal, i'm so glad to have a friend like you...

My therapists have told me that but I don't think I could stand to share people's trauma day in and day out. I have very porous boundaries and a hard time compartmentalizing things, so I'd carry everyone's emotional baggage with me. It would probably kill me to be steeped in so much negative energy. Plus it wouldn't do people a lot of good to see their therapist crying. I prefer offering selective, pro-bono assistance. Besides, I don't want to go back to school.

understood <3

i'm back, i created again a fixed account

True tho

That's like, the best thing that can happen when you're down.

yeah