Crossroad

I have a friend who's been unhappy just about as long as I've known her. She has occasional moments when she cuts loose and has fun, but most of the time...

... she's a swirling vortex of downward spiraling suckage.

How long do you hang in there with someone who's been at a job for 20+ years, but has been unhappy for at least the last 10, and can siphon the good feelings out of the room by simply walking in?

Who can be tremendously funny and is talented and capable, but refuses to look beyond her current crappy position to look at the myriad challenging and satifying positions that might be out there if she'd just quit looking at the gigantic pile of doody sitting on her desk today?

Who is outrageously inappropriate in most social situations as a form of self-defense?

It's taken me a while to realize that I've been eating my way through the steady pile shit sandwiches of her depression for quite some time now.

That she walks in the door, and all I want to do is run as far and as fast as I can in the opposite direction.

And, still, I care about her enough that I just can't bring myself to do it.

Knowing what I know about her family, there's no help there.

Tonight, I finally got that what I'm really seeing is depression and low (okay, no) self esteem.

So...

... I'm going to start talking to a couple of our circle of friends who are closest about confronting the problem head-on.

I don't think she realizes that she's the walking, talking incarnation of Joe Btfsplk.

And I don't think she realizes that she's been depressed for years.

I'm not looking forward to pointing out that there's an elephant in the room, but I'm also no longer willing to let said elephant poop on my head.

Wish me luck. Instead of shit on me, the elephant could just as well sit on me.

Ouch.