I currently start fall semester tomorrow and I have a friend that’s older and he only comes to me with his stress and problems because nobody else wants to hear it. And with school starting tomorrow I don’t want him to think I don’t want to listen but it’s stressful dealing with both I feel bad but my education is more important and I don’t want to feel like a piece of crap for not listening
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So this is known as trauma dumping. He doesn't want to deal with his issues or look inside so he's dumping them on you to get brief relief 😮💨 My Mom does this and I had to learn to set boundaries. First tell him that you have less time to talk because of your new schedule. Then pick a day and a time limit. Tell him that you're available at this day and at this time but only till x time. During the talk validate his feelings and show empathy but make it very clear that your not an expert and a therapist would be so much more helpful. If you have time you could find information on free or almost free therapy in his area and suggest he look into it. It can take awhile before he does look into and possibly he never will. Being a good friend is not just letting someone dump on you but also setting boundaries that will force the other person to seek help. Make sure you stick to your decided time limit and days set as they will most likely try to disregard your boundaries.
wow yes this is it thanks so much it’s extremely overwhelming and then I say something referring to what could possibly fix the situation he gets mad and say things like nobody asked you for that just wanted you to listen to what I was saying I’m like damn okay

Oh yeah my Mom does the same thing so I stopped suggesting stuff and just keep shrugging at it and tell her a therapist would be more helpful.