Sometimes, you can't fix people
Dear Prudence,
My best friend of more than 15 years lives in a different state. She’s been struggling with mental health issues over the past six months or so and has been hospitalized several times. She says she doesn’t want to talk about what’s happening, and I’ve been completely respectful of that while also reminding her I will support her no matter what. However, I do worry when I don’t hear back from her. This week, she didn’t text back when I asked how she was doing. I told myself to just relax and give her some space, but then I found out she had been admitted to the hospital again. I had no idea. I want to be there for her, but she wants to be left alone. I feel like a bad friend because I’m not helping her through this struggle. I also feel like our friendship may not be as real or close as I thought it was since she doesn’t want my help. What should I do?
—Left in the Dark
Re: Sometimes, you can't fix people
I'm actually more curious what happened to this person to go from apparently having no issues over the last 15 years (at least) to suddenly being hospitalized multiple times for mental health problems. Perhaps if the friend tries to understand that, she will have greater empathy for the situation.