I met a kid at my high school grad practice a few months ago that confided in me that he suffers from mental illness (what kind it is, I'm not sure, I suffer from biological depression myself but I don't bother asking him what HIS deal is for fear of embarrassing him). Because of this illness and possibly other factors, he has very few friends and almost never gets out of the house, so I agreed to give him my phone number and told him "Call me anytime" out of kindness.

Thing is, he's been calling me (on average) two or three times a day eversince (at the very least, once a day). One day, he fessed up and told me that he calls me so much because he "just wants a friend". I feel sympathy for him and once in a while, I WILL take his call and chat with him for a decent amount of time, but three-fourths of the time, I find myself ignoring his persistent calls, just because sometimes, even if I feel sorry for a person like this, I just don't feel like messing with him.

Is it wrong to feel this way and ignore 75% or more of his calls the way I do (I bet he's beginning to think I'm purposely ignoring him... I've been making excuses)?, or should I answer him more often?

I don't think it's wrong to feel this way since he is so persistent, but maybe you should tell him you cannot talk to him all the time instead of just ignoring him / continously making excuses. That is not a long-term solution IMO. You shouldn't answer him more often if doing so would make you feel uncomfortable but maybe you should consider telling him you can't talk to him that often and explain it somehow (even with a lie).

Aelis said:

Good advice .

Just whatever U do, don't let him hook U up 2 free cable.



Sorry I know I'm a child but I couldn't resist.