Jeez. And I'm not saying that to diminish your experience.

I'm going to give you a little bit of tough love my dad gave me. Because this is "free advice" you didn't ask for, it's completely up to you to evaluate it's worth within your own life and do with it as you please. Okay?

I'm not being mean, but I will be direct. You're going to get an Appalachian Mountain Mama experience and most men are used to being mollycoddled so .... it can be a little intense.

Two things.

One. That bitch is not your friend. And neither is anyone else who negs you in this way. Look at your hand and count your fingers. The number of real friends you have in your life from cradle to grave will be fewer than the number of fingers on your hand.

There is a huge, monumental, existential difference between being friendly and being a friend. A friendly person will use pleasantness and social cues to advantage themselves in one way or another. That arvantage may often be mutual and that's fine, but we need to realize that a soon as disadvantaging you advances them or your temporary disadvantage drags them down too, a "friendly" person will throw your ass under the nearest buss in full frenemy fashion every damned time.

A friend will make sure you're okay. They'll look for you when you're lost. They'll put your broke ass on their back and carry you away from danger. They'll ALWAYS be real with you.

See the difference?

The sad reality is most of the people you meet in life will be friendly, and as we said, that's fine because it's mutually advantageous. They will not be friends. Ergo, you are not required to disclose to them personal details of your life just because they're being nosy. Also, you should always be super selective who you let into your inner circle. You guard that inner circle.

Second thing. Your mental and emotional landscape is a crucial part of both your overall wellbeing and your ability to succeed and advance in life. You know that adage of thinking of your brain as a muscle? Okay. If you sustain an injury that leaves your skeletomuscular system unable to function normally, what do you do? You go to physical therapy, right? So you can function, right? To restore your mobility as much as possible, right? Okay if we're agreed that the brain is also a muscle, why would we treat it as less than your shoulder muscles or your walking muscles or your knees? Don't you need your brain to function too? So what should we do when we've been injured and can't function normally anymore? Go to therapy, right? Because we need help and special exercises to restore function, right?

There is no difference. Anyone who says different is a blithering idiot trying to disadvantage you.

Are you gonna sit there and listen to fucktards? Or, are you gonna take care of business and live the life you were meant to?

I say this with a kind heart. Get your head out of your ass. You're not required to carry the shame someone else tries to hand you to stroke their own ego. Stop wallowing and pick better friends.