I have a friend coming to stay with me for three weeks. She's flown all the way to Scotland from Canada and I really want to be a good host but my depression has got me feeling really lethargic lately. On top of that, since I started taking lithium two weeks ago I've started experiencing hand tremors and muscular ticks, which I'm told are probably temporary but are still making simple things, like holding a pen or feeding myself kind of difficult (I have a doctor's appointment on Monday so I'll bring it up with him then).

I want my friend to have a good trip. When we planned this, I was feeling well, so I didn't really plan for my depression to get in the way. We've known each other for 18 years and she's aware of my depression, so it's not like I'm afraid of her finding out, I just don't want to drag her down with me. On the one hand I think having her company will be really helpful, but on the other hand my mood swings have been such that I've been purposely avoiding people so I don't snap at them for no reason or burst into tears in public. I have very little energy these days and I can only really function properly in short spurts.

I want to tell my friend about this but I'm not really sure how to bring it up. I don't want to make a big deal of this, and I don't want to be a downer on her first trip overseas. Even though my closest friends know about my depression, I still find it hard to talk about with them because I don't like them to worry or to be a "debbie downer". Any suggestions on how best to handle my depression while my friend is here?