Physical & Emotional Abuse Support Group
Abuse is a general term for the treatment of someone that causes some kind of harm (to the abused person, to the abusers themselves, or to someone else) that is unlawful or wrongful. No one deserves abuse, period. Abuse can be emotional, physical, or sexual.
I think back to when my "friend" that works at the mental health office as a Wellness coach, not an actual therapist started diagnosing me as paranoid schizophrenic and bipolar and even though my actual therapist never diagnosed me as either, just withdrawn due to abuse suffered since childhood..I have to wonder if I am a bit messed up. :( Since Friday night I have been basically in my home other than to take care of my horse and to run to dollar general today as I literally had run out of food. Its like I have to force myself out. I am not afraid of being outside so not agoraphobia but I just don't want to be around anyone. Lots of depression. We go back to work tommorrow so I have to do that but otherwise I am closing off more and more. :(
Abuse messes with your trust and faith in people. It injures us. It teaches us that there's a whole lot of ways people can be bad for us even when those same people think they are doing us a favor. It's ok to not want to be around people in general for a while.
Stick to close friends and family who you feel you can trust until some of your confidence returns and don't feel obliged to be a social butterfly just because other people are. Do make sure you stay in touch with key people like your therapist and family though. It's all too easy for people to drop under the radar when depression strikes.
Also when you're used to working and being around people, it can mess with your mind to have too much time by yourself. That happens to me. It's a paradox because I crave being alone but it can be bad for me mentally, because my mind starts spinning about things (like you mentioning that friend that diagnosed you). Then when I get around people (even if only in the grocery store), I think man, I'm getting too much in my head again. I have to force myself sometimes to call someone, usually my mom or that one friend, to get myself out of my own head. You know what I mean? It's a dark place to be. I hope getting back to work helps you some! Hugs!