I invite friends to go for a run with me when they seem a little depressed. They say yes and get some exercise, which makes them feel better, or they say no and I get to avoid them until they latch onto somebody else.
He has muscular dystrophy. So unfortunately, that would be a pretty shitty thing to do.
He might see you as a sort of anchor. I don't think you're really the person that he should look to for that sort of thing. You both probably need a friend that shits sunshine. It makes a difference for me, at least.
Yup. But he's sooo shy and I'm his best friend blah blah blah.
I
didn't ask for this. He was briefly happier when he thought for some godforsaken reason that I was going to be his girlfriend (he asked me out immediately after leaving the psychiatric hospital) and now, possibly because I told him some many months after the rejection that I was interested in someone (in the interest of having a healthier, less "maybe this might turn into something if I pray hard enough" relationship), he's taken A Turn For The Worse. I don't have a problem with "I have this problem, let's discuss it," but it practically enrages me when folks show up looking glum and expecting me to pull it out and give a billion soothing reassuring gestures. I am not this fellow's girlfriend. I am not willing to act like the ultimate emotional sponge that this fellow seems to require out of his friendships.
I don't think he's trying to be emotionally manipulative, but I am
totally done dealing with this sort of situation. I've done it before. I am
done.