Oftentimes truth hurts but that doesn’t mean you never address it!

This guy shares how he had to show his friend a mirror to bring him back to life.

Check out the full story.

AITAH for giving my friend a much-needed reality check?

My mate and I are both in our mid-30s. We’ve known each other for over 20 years and, realistically, we’ve been each other’s main support system for most of that time.

He’s the only person I speak to regularly and I’m the same for him. Let’s call him Dave.

This is where it gets tricky…

I recently moved to another city for work, so we don’t get to hang out in person anymore. We still call every few days, and despite everything, I genuinely love the guy like a brother. I don’t see us ever not being in each other’s lives.

I could go on about his best qualities.

But respectfully… Dave has all my worst traits, but turned up to 100.

I struggle with depression and social anxiety too, but I’ve been putting in the effort to turn things around: I’ve been exercising, getting outside, forcing myself into small social situations, and trying to look after myself even on the rough days.

He knows Dave doesn’t put in enough effort…

Dave, on the other hand, has been going the opposite direction. He barely leaves the house anymore. His hygiene has dropped off dramatically.

He doesn’t try to take care of himself physically or emotionally, and whenever I gently encourage him, he brushes it off or gives me the ‘what’s the point?’ line. I’m not a therapist, and I’ve told him that.

I can support him, but I can’t fix him.

The recurring issue is this: Dave has never been romantic with anyone, which isn’t a problem on its own. I’ve had my own struggles in that area, and being single is not a character flaw.

That’s INSANE!

The problem is that every few weeks he spirals into a rant about how unfair life is, how “no girl will ever want someone like him,” and how the universe has personally decided he doesn’t get love.

Last week during a call, I snapped. Not yelling, just brutal honesty.

I told him, ‘You never leave the house, you don’t shower, you don’t groom yourself, and you spend all day doom-scrolling and feeling sorry for yourself. You can’t expect someone to magically appear when you’re doing nothing to make yourself feel better or put yourself out there. Even if it’s not guaranteed, you’re making your odds worse. Honestly you’re starting to think like an incel’.

He absolutely lost it. He called me unsupportive, rude, and even called me a traitor. Then he said some genuinely nasty things about my ex-fiancée leaving me. It was stuff that came out of nowhere and cut pretty deep.

UH OH…

I hung up.

He’s tried calling me a few times since, but I haven’t picked up because I’m still heated and honestly a bit hurt. I’m sure we will eventually talk things out but I’m very nervous about our next conversation too.

So… AITAH for finally giving him the reality check he’s refused to hear for years?

OUCH! That must have been heartbreaking!

Why can’t he motivate Dave to do better instead?

Let’s find out what folks on Reddit think about this one.

That’s right! This user knows it was important for this guy to act the way he did.

 

This user knows this situation is a bit concerning…

This user knows not everybody reacts to depression the same way.

This user knows Dave needed to see the mirror!

Somebody’s simply trying to help here!

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.