Troy,

You are well within your rights to say "I do not want to meet that person. I appreciate that you are "thinking of me", but I decline the invitation". This person that you met is probably a great person and you both might have a lot in common, but you need to meet people on your own terms. Especially at the moment when things have ramped up and vulnerability is paying a visit.

Social niceties be damned, dear friend! Mind you, me giving any sort of advice on social interactions is probably not a good thing. I have become increasingly intolerant in my maturity and have been known to simply walk away from someone after imparting a comment along the lines of "You are a bigot and an imbecile." I am not anti-social, I just don't suffer fools gladly. So you might want to take my post with grain of salt, even though my intentions are good.

Along the lines of what Bebop said, people don't really understand. In this case, because they were genuinely trying to help, you might have felt obliged. But you don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to do. If you can't be around happy people right now, then don't be, BUT don't replace them with negative nancy's either. Maybe just catch up with mates, one or two at a time.

Say "No" a bit more to the things that don't really matter, and "yes" to the things that do. It is all about you at the moment, my dear friend. Your safety is all that matters.

Hugs,

Michah