So, I (34M) have been struggling with depression for a while now. Not the kind that goes away with a weekend off or a walk in the park. I’ve tried therapy, meds, the whole thing. It’s manageable some days, unbearable others. But lately, even my “good” days feel like I’m performing for people who expect me to be functional, funny, and politically agreeable.

The last few times I hung out with my group of friends, everything just felt… fake. They’re all pretty politically active—online, in real life, everywhere—and I used to be too. But at some point, I just burned out. It’s like the constant outrage cycle mixed with my own inner darkness created this black hole I can’t escape. Every conversation turns into a debate, a lecture, or a joke I’m supposed to laugh at, even if inside I feel like I'm drowning.

I’ve started declining invites, not responding much in the group chat. A couple of them reached out and said they were worried, and I appreciated that, but then they kind of made it about them—like “we miss the old you,” or “it’s not like you to be so apolitical.” One even said I was “checking out of the fight” and that it was a “privileged position.”

That one really messed with me, because I’m barely keeping myself alive some days, and now I’m being guilted for not keeping up with the 24/7 outrage machine?

So I’ve pulled away. I still care about them, but right now I need space, and honestly, silence.

AITA for stepping back and not explaining everything to them? I just don’t have the energy to be a depressed person and someone else’s idea of a good friend with all the right takes.