I have a friend who, no matter the reason I call her, always manages to turn things around on her. I call her because I need a sympathetic ear, someone to vent my frustrations to, etc. and no matter how hard I try to keep the conversation where I need it, she manages to turn EVERY conversation into her own private little pity party.

We all have our problems. She's known about my bi-polar since I can remember, and when I told her my meds had been changed to some pretty serious hitters, her reaction was "Oh, geez....well Nate isn't paying me my child support and now I don't have the money for a sitter to go to the bar."

I SO wanted to hang up the phone on her!!!! Here I am, on medical leave, going through my first month of being on Lithium, and all she can say is "Oh, geez" and then make it about her. I wouldn't be posting this, but she left me a rather nasty voice mail that I was a bad friend who never listened to her problems and all I do is hide behind my disease.

Now, for those of you here that know me, know I DO NOT hide behind my disease. In fact, I hop on and ride it out for the whole 8 seconds; I control my BP, my BP doesn't control me. Although it has been a struggle battling back from my first major manic episode, I WILL be back to work April 21st.

Does it make me a bad friend for ignoring her phone calls and voicemails? Right now is a time where I need my friends to support me, not me try to support them ('cuz I'm in NO position right now to be anyone's crutch), and I have even told her as much, but she still continues with the ME ME ME attitude.

Feeling like a pus-filled boil on the arse of society,
Jenn