TW : Mentions of suicide, alcoholism, cancer, divorce
I'm 16 years old and currently doing year 11 and right now I've got a lot of I guess unusual things going on in my life such as an alcoholic dad and a mum with breast cancer, as well as a trans brother who is suicidal and a little off the rails, as well as more personal things, all on top of school etc. If I ever list them all out, they sound like a lot but me and my family have been dealing with them for so long that they have kind of just become normal. My best friend's family is currently going through her second divorce and her dad is not always reliable and because of that she obviously is quite stressed. She comes and she talks to me about all of her issues, like she should be able to because we are so close, but I've started to almost dread going to hang out with her because all I do is listen and I feel like she isn't able to help me back.
It means that I've been distancing myself from her a bit which I almost feel is selfish on my part? She's got so much going on and she needs me right now but I also have a lot and I don't have any release like she does with me.
Im not sure how to approach our friendship any more but I don't feel like I can tell her that it's stressing me out so much because even though I have other friends, she doesn't really, and if she isn't talking to me, she won't be talking to anyone. She also has multiple mental illnesses like depression, anxiety etc. and has been suicidal in the past all because her social anxiety meant she didn't talk to anyone. She also doesn't want to see a psychologist, I guess I just don't know what to do.
