when i am depressed, i battle the same thing with my friends. i am still in school, but they are 2 or 3 years out into the work force (lawyers, doctors, economists - all high flyers). we went to high school together, so the friendship has been longer than 10 years.

i would encourage you to stick with them. even though when you are depressed, it feels awful, when the depression lifts - it certainly helps to have people around. even though our conversations are usually the same (what is happening at work) - when i'm not depressed, i find i don't get down about it, i'm comfortable still being a student, i stop comparing myself to them.

what i do when i am depressed is try to avoid big group gatherings, but try to meet up with them individually for coffee or something. or maybe in groups of two, if we dont typically hang out together. i find that way i can steer the conversation a bit more, and also there isn't so much time where i can become 'quiet' and start thinking inwards.