7 Signs Your Friends Are Making You Depressed

Depression is a serious mental illness characterized by impaired functioning and a persistently despondent mood. And one of the most concerning risk factors for clinical depression is a lack of social support. Are you stuck with the wrong friends? Are they emotionally unavailable or unsupportive? Are your friends making you depressed? When we don’t have a strong support system to lean back on, it makes us more prone to depression. So it's important to recognize the signs your friends may be making you depressed.

Writer: Chloe Avenasa
Script Editor: Morgan Franz
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
VO: Amanda Silvera
Animator: Animator: Grottimob
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

References:

Lin, N., Dean, A., & Ensel, W. M. (Eds.). (2013). Social support, life events, and depression. Academic Press.

American Psychological Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th Edition. APA Publishing; Washington, DC.

Prinstein, M. J. (2007). Moderators of peer contagion: A longitudinal examination of depression socialization between adolescents and their best friends. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36(2), 159-170.

Muris, P. (2002). Relationships between self-efficacy and symptoms of anxiety and depression in a normal adolescent sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 32(2); 337-348.

Cambron, M. J., Acitelli, L. K., & Steinberg, L. (2010). When friends make you blue: The role of friendship contingent self-esteem in predicting self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(3), 384-397.

Field, T., Miguel, D., & Sanders, C. (2001). Adolescent depression and risk factors. Adolescence, 36(143), 491.

[jcxsfrl]

I think choosing friends should hold the same seriousness as choosing a romantic partner. If you can't find one that you feel comfortable with, don't take anyone. Life will most likely bring you the right people in time.

[PlanetPsych]

“In life we never lose friends, we only learn who the true ones are!” 😊

[mudPuddlePanda]

Whoever is reading this, may all your worries go away with todays sunset . Tomorrow’s Sunrise will bring a rainbow my friend .

[monicology]

on a more positive note, i wanted to share this quote about friendship: "A good friend knows all your best stories, but a best friend has lived them with you." 💓
- i wish i knew

[omg....]

The only good thing quarantine gave me was less time with a "friend" that always makes me feel bad about myself

[yourfriendlyneighbourhoodb]

I had an entire friendship group who made me feel all of these. They weighed me down like an anchor, and played on my insecurities and depression for their own entertainment. It was really hard to leave them though, because I felt some of them were actually good friends. But the moment I let them go, and joined another friend group, I’ve been feeling so much happier. We go out a lot, and I’ve even started dating one of them. Thanks PsychToGo 💙

[sangsterxx]

I had to cut off a friend back in July because she was extreamly mentally draining and i felt sm better when she wasn't around. She always brought around this negative draining energy and she's done a few things that messed me up physiology. While i do feel bad sometimes i knew it was for the better.

[triplekids]

That’s why God is my best friend and after that it’s my dog

[tablet]

I would say you should get away from them. But this actually applied to many of my family members. So, yay(!)

[nothanks]

Yep. I had a friend like this. Cut contact with her a while ago now. It's weird, as sometimes I feel guilty and wonder if I was just overreacting. But, then I see this video and I know I made the right decision.

[sangsterxx]

▶ Timestamps ◀
0:45 - You can't concentrate around them
1:16 - You feel anxious around them
1:40 - You feel lonely when you're around them
2:06 - They worsen your emotional turmoil
2:37 - They tear down your self esteem
2:57 - You don't look foward to hanging with them
3:26 - You start to avoid them

[MrCrashyBashy]

You can also call this video 7 Signs you have bad friends.

[lauriemyers]

I am the person who has never experienced the friend that I am to other people. The only exception is my husband and I thank God every day for him.

[dailydoseofmedicinee]

What are the symptoms of a nervous breakdown?
👍depressive symptoms, such as loss of hope and thoughts of suicide or self-harm.
anxiety with high blood pressure, tense muscles, clammy hands, dizziness, upset stomach, and trembling or shaking.
insomnia.
hallucinations.
extreme mood swings or unexplained outbursts.

[gnarthdarkanen]

If anybody treats you like this, they are NOT friends. Friends might occasionally tease or even take the piss right out of you once in a while... Gods know, my friends and I almost live for rattling each others' cages and having a laugh at it. BUT... they don't make you outright feel bad about being YOU. After the smoke clears and the shrapnel settles, there's a round of hugs and everyone (even you) can look back at whatever just went on and laugh...

If you ever dread visiting or meeting with people to hang out, just don't... It's okay to tell people when you "just ain't feeling it"... OR "don't care to hang out with So-n-so"... whatever. Clear communication when there's a problem can do wonders toward resolving it. You may not always like how it gets resolved, but you'll feel better in the long run when you are unapologetically yourself.

No more putting up with the intolerable or insufferable! ;o)

[liglquigly]

I jokingly tell them things that they’ve said that made me feel bad about myself. None of them seem to have realized how much they actually effect me

[ESCAPE]

I've been through literally all of these with different people and friend groups over the years 😔

[diluniabhimanika]

I just had an emotional breakdown because of my frnds...this video is perfect 4 my situation😣😞😞

[EMafiapowers]

I’m graduates from high school, and 2 friends have stuck around since then. Those 2 aren’t real Friends. They mock me constantly, use me for their own gain and ruin my self esteem. I always looked forward to hanging out but found myself starting to not want to be around them. Sometimes overtime you realize who’s good for you and who’s not, but that’s just life. Stay safe everyone and keep out negative people in your life

[idk-ykkw]

When im whit my bff we laugh a lot but when she is whit me and her other friend i feel rlly ignored lonely and unloved