[Dion]

Originally Posted by flameswin

That's the conclusion I've been trying to come to, but it may take a bit of time.

The problem with this situation, is that we made some music together a while ago, and he was pumped and mentioned that singing those songs was a release, and the best he'd felt in a long time.

So when he wanted to get back into it, he looked to me, and said he needed to play those songs to feel good again, and said it had to be me specifically. The problem is, he's really driven when it comes to his music, so it wouldn't have been as easy as me renting some drums and us jamming here and there, he would again, see it as the only thing important in his life, and would have needed to jam 4 or 5 nights a week, and would have expected to be be playing shows every weekend, and I'm at a stage where I can't commit to that anymore.

So for me, it was a commitment that would have weighed me down, and strained everything else I enjoy, but I also had no idea he was that bad.

Because of the stigma and great ignorance that surrounds mental illness, many people will say they are fine like your friend did. They will go to great lengths to avoid being mocked or ridiculed for what they have. In many cases it's the stigma that prevents them from reaching out for help.