I just wanted to take a minute to remind all the other Dopers: think of a friend that you trust, maybe one you haven’t talked to in a while, and make the time to hang out with him or her. It can make a world of difference.
Example? Okay, sure. This has been a pretty rough year for me, and it’s only been in the last couple of weeks that it’s caught up with me how significant and just downright assy it’s been. Most of the time I haven’t been able to think about it; I’ve just been concentrating on how to stay on top of it all and in control. And when I needed it the most, my friends started popping up and offering to be there for me, either to knock sense into me when I needed it, to give advice on how to go forward, ask me for advice to make me feel useful, or just to listen (while getting pleasantly inebriated, hence the “maudlin” part of this post). Normally I’m neurotic enough to wonder “what the hell did I do to deserve this, something even worse is bound to happen next,” but now I can just think, “whatever it is I’m doing, it must be pretty good to be able to get friends like these.” And that’s a pretty good feeling.
So think of your friend(s) and make a point to just hang out, without any agenda, even without the “let’s catch up, it’s been so long” pressure. Just start with “so what’s up?” You’d be surprised how much it can help.
