Do you stay in touch with your "troubled" friends?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238338)
Walnut Creek, California
November 7, 2019 9:09pm CST
I grew up in a strange neighborhood. It was near the University of Chicago, one of the most prestigious Universities in the United States. But it was also near several of the most violent and drug-infested neighborhoods in Chicago.
As a result, my friends run the gamut as far as their histories are concerned. Some are now lawyers in Washington D.C. Some are columnists for major magazines. Others are dead from drug overdoses, or virtually "on the streets," due to mental illness.
One of my best buddies from childhood days graduated from Harvard University, a prestigious American institution, in History. But he's crazy as a loon
We caught frogs and red-eared slider turtles together at Summer Camp, and I taught him how to be a good wide receiver in (American) football in Chicago
But he had schizophrenia in his genes, and is now pretty nutty. In spite of his "issues," we still talk a couple of times a month. Sometimes I can't tell what the hell he's trying to express. But other times, especially when we're discussing the "good old days," or something that's purely "intellectual," we can connect just fine.
Do you have certain friends that are "out there," but still in your circle of friends?
18 people like this
14 responses
@RasmaSandra (98026)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
8 Nov 19
I live above my best friend since the 6th grade. We went through high school together and found each other once I moved to Latvia. Then I came back and she offered me the apartment above her. During the years her nerves have made her scared of the world, she has a heart condition, and most days stays hidden indoors and we get together as her health allows and then we remember the good old days
5 people like this
@RasmaSandra (98026)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
8 Nov 19
@TheHorse of course, she is like a sister to me, She is under a doctor's care and constantly needs her meds changed because some affect her heart condition.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (238338)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Nov 19
@RasmaSandra Is she doing "OK" right now?
2 people like this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
8 Nov 19
What is sane to me would be insane to you and vice versa.
No I had to walk away from all the mentally impaired. Enough was enough.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (502653)
• Italy
8 Nov 19
@TheHorse Her husband (my brother) is a doctor, yes she was medicated. This is what happens to all people affected by schizophrenia, you are talking, they seem normal and suddenly they start talking about events that never happened and "friends" who do not exist.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
8 Nov 19
I am still in contact with my grade school classmates and we meet once or twice a year. But when they have problems, I try to shy away. It's not about not helping them but there are other issues behind it.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
8 Nov 19
@TheHorse pardon me for just keeping it to myself.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238338)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Nov 19
@Alexandoy There are some whom I would not let stay at my house. But I still talk to them on the phone.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
8 Nov 19
I have one friend who is "out there" but perfectly sane. Other than her, everyone is OK.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238338)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Nov 19
@Starkinds But sometimes we have to put up boundaries to protect ourselves...
1 person likes this
@kareng (80243)
• United States
9 Nov 19
I have one old friend that I tried really hard to stay in touch with. We grew up in the same neighborhood and lost touch after high school. We reconnected years later and I learned after visiting her that she was really in a bad situation. She had her son living with her, grown, but he didn't work. She said he had some kind of mental illness but the guy was very smart and programmed computers and did other electrical things. Her home was a wreck. You have seen the show Hoarders? Perfect description. I took her out to eat and the BO was horrible. I managed to make it through the meal and I took her home. From then on we just chatted on the phone. She ended up being kicked out of the house as it was a rental. She moved and her daughter moved in. I don't know what happened to the son. I never asked and she never offered to tell me. She seems happy now so that is what matters.
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
9 Nov 19
I have a couple of friends who are mentally ill and I stay in touch with them. I have recurrent depression myself, but my friends struggle more with their disorders than I do. One of my close friends has depressions and psychosis. She doesn't live in my area and we don't meet that often, but we talk on the phone and she calls me when she needs to talk. I am too far away to go with her to psychiatric emergency room when she needs it, but I try to support her in other ways like phonecalls, text messages and emails.
1 person likes this
@Lolaze (5092)
• St. Louis, Missouri
9 Nov 19
I don’t any longer. I’d stayed in touch with one for almost 3 years due to her little girl, but after she committed multiple crimes (including endangering her daughter), I had no choice but to be done. Social services is going to have to watch out for the little girl, it can’t be my job any longer.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (40037)
• Toccoa, Georgia
9 Nov 19
I have a cousin who is "out there" and no, I do not keep in touch with him, it is a long story as to why.
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
9 Nov 19
sadly all 'f mine 've passed. mostly from health issues, but gone nonetheless.
i do wish that folks'd stay better connected with their friends though. they're buryin' a young fella today who took his life 't 28. leavin' family 'n friends crushed 'n confused. the son 'twas tellin' me he'd ceased all social media back'n july, where he'd been quite active. a sign no doubt, one that nobody read.
