Dear Dr. Dick, okay, my friend is getting on my damn nerves. He is always complaining about his station in life. He hates his job, his body, and his relationships. Usually I would turn into therapist. Let’s do the resume, try a new workout routine, and maybe let’s kill the boyfriend. Well, after a few minutes things are starting to look up for my friend. He’s out shopping his resume, he’s doing cardio and he gives his boyfriend his walking papers. Then everything, almost all at once, stops. We’ve been through this at least fifty times a month. I am tired and I am done. What should I do?
Signed Know It All So Bleh!
Dear Know It All So Bleh!
Leave him alone. Let him stew in his own juices. Tend to your own needs. There is no way to help anyone, trust me I know this. We can only put them out of their misery. Get a gun. Okay, just kidding about the gun but not about the rest of it. You can support someone when they are going through a crisis, but that is it my friend. Being empathetic can complicate a friendship. You may feel for another person, but you are not that person. Boundaries are important in a friendship. You have to know when to lay off the advice and simply put down the phone or walk away.