 Hey, Psych2Goers, and welcome back to another video. Your ongoing love and support has helped Psych2Go make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone, and we want to thank you for that. With that said, let's begin. Do you have people in your life you lean on and trust to provide you with the care, respect, and encouragement you need to get through difficult times? Numerous studies have shown that having a strong support system can significantly lessen stress, improve coping skills, and decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety. But what happens when we don't have a strong support system to lean on? What if the people we consider our friends end up being the ones who push us over the edge instead of helping us climb out of the hole? Here are 7 warning signs that your friends may be making you depressed. 1. You can't concentrate around them. Has there been a significant decline in your performance lately? Have your grades been slipping ever since you became friends with them? A telltale sign of depression is difficulty concentrating, but if you only seem to struggle when your friends are around, then they may be the reason why. If they're always complaining and nagging you whenever they're around, it can make it hard for you to think straight. You struggle to focus on other tasks because of how mentally and emotionally exhausting it is to be friends with them. 2. You feel anxious around them. Do you only feel anxious when you're with your friends? Because the thought of seeing them fill you with an impending sense of dread. You feel nervous and uneasy for reasons you don't understand, and you may even start to experience physical symptoms of anxiety, such as sweating, shaking, muscle tension, shortness of breath, and a racing heartbeat. 3. You feel lonely even when you're with them. When you're with your friends, do they make you feel lonely, empty, and disconnected from everyone around you? You don't feel like they really listen to you, see you, or value you as a person, because they don't seem to care about how you're feeling or what you have to say. You're starting to feel like they're only friends with you for superficial reasons. It's becoming more painfully obvious that you lack a deep, meaningful connection with them. 4. They worsen your emotional turmoil. When you tell them about your problems, do they say, you don't have any reason to be sad about that, or you think you have it bad? They go to them hoping for comfort and support, but all they give you instead is grief and frustration. Their callous lack of empathy only worsens your emotional turmoil, so you start keeping things to yourself and shedding them and other people out. Your friends' insensitivity has made you more socially withdrawn and isolated. 5. They tear down your self-esteem. If you're dealing with depression, you most likely also have feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem. Your friends could be the ones mistreating you and making you feel bad about yourself. If they like to mock you about your mistakes and prey on your insecurities, they may be worsening your depression, or could be the ones causing it. 6. You don't look forward to hanging out with them. Do you feel you have nothing to look forward to with your friend group? Have you possibly given up hope on your future, thinking it'll be bleak and empty like it feels right now with them? This is the toxic power of having such emotionally draining friends. Their negativity and pessimism is weighing down on you, and it makes you feel overwhelmed and disillusioned with reality. They'll act like they've already given up hope and mock you for not doing the same. 7. You start to avoid them. Have you started declining your friends' calls lately? Do you cancel on them at the last minute? Do you make excuses just to get away from them? If you're avoiding them because you happen to feel better when they're not around, then that's a clear sign that they may be the problem. You might want to leave the moment you're alone with them, or be counting down the minutes until you can leave when you're hanging out. Did anyone in particular come to mind during this video? Let us know in the comments below. If you have people that are causing this much strife in your life, it's probably best to set up some healthy boundaries and keep an emotional distance from them. If you've been struggling with feelings of depression, don't hesitate to reach out to a mental health care professional today and get the help you need. Also, don't forget to give us a thumbs up and hit the subscribe button for more Psych2Go content. As always, thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.