I have an acquaintance that calls me often because she is bored or feeling restless. She's a very miserable person and I have a difficult time handling people who are perpetually depressed and won't do anything to examine that state. She is also a very angry person as a result of being depressed which also makes her difficult to handle. She is the type of person to complain about everything - work, people, the world, her health, her life - but will never do anything to change things.
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I am always unsure of how to respond to such people. I don't know how to talk to them or advise them because they don't want advice, they just want to complain or vent or yell and then go back to their misery. They want to drag someone else down with them and get mad when you don't respond in kind to their negativity. I don't have patience for that stuff. I'm a goaler. I'm a doer. I'm someone who doesn't believe in complaining and never taking any steps to fix anything or even trying to.
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@thewebrecluse expecting you already know this, sharing in the hope it is helpful. You don’t owe anyone your time. Does certainly seems like you are being kind and supportive.
@fuse I know I don't owe anyone any of my time and honestly it doesn't take up much time because all she does is talk and talk and complain and complain and all I have to do is listen and say uh huh or hmmm or whatever and then she eventually goes back to whatever she was doing. If I try to give any advice she just gets mad and has excuses why she can't do things or try things. I think some people are just destined to be miserable and prefer it to actually actively changing their life.