The conversations we have to have...

So the weekend wasn't all about footy games and meat pies. My friend, P, was visiting from Canberra with his girlfriend and were staying over at my place. P counts as one of my closest friends. The friendship, however, is not an easy one. I regard myself as an optomist (I am definitely a glass-half-full kinda guy). P, on the other hand, has a tendency towards negativity and self-pity. As a result, our conversations can be quite heavy going sometimes. True...he has gone through some serious shit in the last few years (i.e. nasty break up with ex; an unrewarding job) but I also know people who have gone through far far worse (but with a much more positive outlook on things). Besides, even blind Freddy can see that P has actually got a lot to be happy and optomistic about (smart, great writer, awesome new girlfiend, lots of adoring friends). Yet, everytime we get together, the conversation invariably turns to all the bad things in his life. I know he wants me to be there to be sympathetic but I am also hesitant to reinforce the victim mentality because, quite frankly, he is not a victim. Far from it. Regardless, our get-togethers are often intense and draining, and by Sunday night, I was utterly and completely exhausted.