i have 3 friends who live in different parts of the country. 2 are under-employed, one is out on fmla. these numbnuts like to call all hours of the day like i'm NOT at work. i'm waaaay overworked and overstressed right now and these bobbleheads get offended if you don't answer a text message.

anybody else have this problem? people with babies/elderly that they are caring for?

Yes.

This entire year, all my friends, lovers, etc. have had relatively less stress in their lives than me.
The irony is I was made privy to sooooo much of their complaints about what was stressing them out, I didn't bother to talk about any of my own as I figured it would only further be a downer.

Most people don't have anything to complain about but they still do.

I get that problem. I work from home, and I sometimes feel like talking on the phone has become a part-time job. But I don't feel guilty about not answering or not responding to messages. Even when I'm not working, I've become really protective of my own time. Sometimes you have to play hardball (i.e., just let 'em be mad; they'll get over it), and after a little bit, people come onboard if you hold your ground. (At least that's been my experience.)

this guy i know, i wouldn't say he's under less stress than i am, it's just we work different hours of the day (i do evenings), and he'd always, always call/text me asking if i were up to meeting after i've left work, which he knows is way too late and exhausting for me (i've told him that over & over again) but he'd still do it, so sometimes i'd just go meet up, or if i were totally knocked out i'd do my best to make it up to him the next day (with him being grumpy of course), until i just went off on him one day and we haven't spoken since.

Yup, my family & friends seem to think that just b/c I work nights & no one is looking over my shoulder, it means I'm not really working & have time for phone calls & numerous texts. They get irritated if I don't answer & they'll say shit like, "you didn't text me back!" But that's too fucking bad. If I have the time I'll answer every now & again, but I usually ignore it & get back to them on the weekend. If they can't respect my schedule, I just block them out until I have time to deal w/ them. My phone is frequently on "silent" these days

i have a friend i haven't connected with in quite a few months. we hooked up and went to dinner about a month ago (which i paid for) and now it's text messages like "what u doing?" i'm working 75 hrs a week..that's what i'm doing

amen! i have friends that insist i see them 2-three times per week.!! i defintely couldn'thandle them visiting me that often.

I have one with 500% percent more nerves and anxiety than me THAT'S exhausting and she probably thinks I'm too laissez faire

From when I was working (redundancy (bleh)) I know exactly what you mean used to rile me up. My worst one though is one of my mates (who I shall keep nameless) that pretends to listen to you (and he doesn't even do that well) and then rambles on about his sports and other stuff I'm not interested in when I've only said a sentence and am only pausing for breath... really really f***s me off!