Problems exist for everyone. There are people who genuinely want to have your sympathy as a friend and will treasure that and return the same favor when needed. There are few others who just want to unload their stress to others and emotionally drain others.
I have a couple of friends with whom I meet almost daily. First is this lady who always sighs in between her conversation. She thinks very high about herself and says she hates people who complain but infact she would be doing the exact. She has some problems in life which she could not overcome so she makes generalised statements like - we are becoming old, we dont have anybody, usually husbands are like that, no spark in anybody's marriage etc.
There is yet another lady who is almost the same. In additon she cannot hear no from others. If someone opposes her, she says no one in this whole world can be nice to her, people are selfish, do not care for others, they take advantage of her when needed but not care for her etc.
These two are taking a toll on my mental energy and whenever I meet or talk with them even for a while, I feel that Im at loss of energy and emotionally drained. It takes atleast a day for me to get back to normal.
I have been avoiding their calls and just want to maintain a cordial relationship but cannot totally cut them off. The second person is a distant cousin too who stays closeby.
On the other hand, if I avoid them and meet after a gap, they say they missed me because Im a good listener. They say that a friend should be like me. I have a positive attitude towards life and it makes them feel good, but its the opposite feeling for me.
Please suggest if you have similar experiences and how to deal with it without totally disconnecting with them. For sure they will not change, so I have to do something about it.
I have a couple of friends with whom I meet almost daily. First is this lady who always sighs in between her conversation. She thinks very high about herself and says she hates people who complain but infact she would be doing the exact. She has some problems in life which she could not overcome so she makes generalised statements like - we are becoming old, we dont have anybody, usually husbands are like that, no spark in anybody's marriage etc.
There is yet another lady who is almost the same. In additon she cannot hear no from others. If someone opposes her, she says no one in this whole world can be nice to her, people are selfish, do not care for others, they take advantage of her when needed but not care for her etc.
These two are taking a toll on my mental energy and whenever I meet or talk with them even for a while, I feel that Im at loss of energy and emotionally drained. It takes atleast a day for me to get back to normal.
I have been avoiding their calls and just want to maintain a cordial relationship but cannot totally cut them off. The second person is a distant cousin too who stays closeby.
On the other hand, if I avoid them and meet after a gap, they say they missed me because Im a good listener. They say that a friend should be like me. I have a positive attitude towards life and it makes them feel good, but its the opposite feeling for me.
Please suggest if you have similar experiences and how to deal with it without totally disconnecting with them. For sure they will not change, so I have to do something about it.