Sad

It's sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew.

~ Henry Rollins

- - - - -

I once found a resource about ways to get negative people to stop whining. It included saying the following:

"Wow. You sound really upset. Let's talk about something else so you can cool down."

"That sounds like a tough spot to be in. How are you going to get past it?"

"Sorry that happened. Have you told them how they made you feel?"

"What has worked when you've faced this in the past?"

"Oh, no! Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Sounds rough. What's something going well for you?"

These are all horrible. The headline said they were "clever." They are not. Know why? Because they all encourage the whiner to keep talking to you.

The only response that didn't do that was, "Wow. Sounds like you're handling it really well." 

That doesn't encourage them to continue talking necessarily. It's just you lying to their face.

My advice - move to another city or get a new phone number and new email address. That's one way to get away from that negative energy. Actually, it's three ways. 

Run away.