Hey LiveByTheSea and everyone else in this thread.

I've lost a few very good friends due to the way I treated them while I was depressed and anxious, and that just made things so much worse at the time. I've also had a few people totally become very dear friends once I opened up to them about my illnesses and they've stuck with me over the years because we can share our vulnerabilities together. I never would've guessed that at the moment though.

And, then there's a former ex of mine who I obsessed about for 3 years when I was first deeply depressed, she became the lightning rod for all of my thoughts of self-harm and self-hate. We're now best friends and I can tell her about all of my most difficult experiences with depression and anxiety and she's so bloody supportive, it's amazing. You just never know how people will react, but I do agree with many of you that there's tonnes of stigma out there and confiding in people is extremely difficult and risky when you're depressed.

I joined a free depression support group yesterday and had a good first meeting. It's freeing to be with people who just get it, period.

In solidarity,

RJ