What would you do if your friend was constantly in a bad mood?

When I am in a bad mood, the last thing I want to see is "friends" wanting to cheer me up. I guess it's normal to have that "leave me alone" feeling once in a while. Maybe you got a slight influence of the flu, you don't feel so well, or you just want to spend some time on your own. That's what every person needs from time to time.

I'm only worried about friends when after three weeks, I haven't heard a word from them. And it's those three weeks where I'd start worrying if that bad mood continues, or whether it was just "I need a break, get away".

If its something that has started recently I would ask them to come over and then talk to them about what's going on in their life that may be causing them to be in a bad mood. A caring friend is much better than a judgmental one. If I'm able to help alleviate their problem, all the better.

Sometimes the only thing that you can do is listen while they unburden themselves. If this is all you can do then by all means, let them know you're willing to listen if they need to unload. (this doesn't mean you're up for abuse, so make that clear).

If there is no particular reason for their bad mood and this has been the way they are since you've known them, then you can either accept this as a personality trait or find other friends. Move on. If someone in your life is bringing you down constantly, this isn't healthy for you.

If your friend is chronically depressed, talk to them and encourage them to get help. If you suspect that depression is the cause of their bad mood, I would not give them any ultimatums regarding your friendship. After all, depression is a serious condition and no one should be abandoned because its inconvenient for you to have a sick friend.

Once you eliminate all of the reasons your friend might be in a bad mood, well then, you have to make a decision. Not everyone has a perky and optimistic personality. If your friend is a good friend despite their moodiness, well, decide if the pros outweigh the cons.

When I first start noticing it, I will try to ask him about the problem. if there is a problem then we will try talking about it, but if i don t get an answer then I will assume he is hiding something and i will ignore the whole thing for that day

if he is always in a bad mood then I will say this " Listen man, I am your friend and I want to note something. You are always in a bad mode, what is wrong with you ? do you know that you are making everyone else in a bad mode too ? is nothing satisfying you anymore ? I mean even if you had everything exactly the way you want it, I bet you will still be in a bad mood. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR SELF and change the way you look at it. I don t like the way you are acting and behaving, but that doesn t mean that I hate you or hate being with you, I am just letting you know what influence that you are making on others and how is it crucial that you stop this nonsense that your are doing for no obvious reason. Everybody in the world has problems so just enjoy the rest of your time away from those problems, don t make those problems your companions and take them with you everywhere" then he will probably get mad and start denying that he is in a bad mode. day after day I will point it out to him when ever he gets in that bad mode but I will try to say it in a funny way so he wont get mad again, and lets hope this will help him realise that he is actually putting himself in that bad mode while he can just avoid it. and lets hope realising that will help him stay away from that mode.

Two different answers here.
If the friend is a guy I respect his space and let him know if he wants to talk I am there.

If the friend is a woman then I start with the assumption that nothing I will do will help at all. If I do the same as I would for a guy then I am cold, uncaring of her feelings, and not as supportive as a should be. If I try to get her to talk about it then I am treating her like a child or smothering her. And God help you if you actually ask her what's wrong. If you do this then no matter what the initial focus of her problem was it is now you that has become the source of all that is evil and wrong with the world. Later on this same person will also blame you for things that you did in her dreams and then have the gall to ask why men aren't honest with women,

I disagree. I think it can be a lot of fun being "on the other end of that funk." A friend that is constantly in a bad mood never deceives you, never beats around the bush, and never leaves you guessing where you stand with them. It may be a hassle most of the time but in the long run a friend that will tell you to f*** off is the most sincere kind of person you ll ever meet. These perky, chipper people on the other hand are barely even connected to reality. They expect everything to be positive all the time, and that's just not how life works. They'll bail on your friendship as soon as anything serious comes up. So how would I respond to a friend that is always in a bad mood? I'd tough it out with 'em because that's what friends do.

It all depends.

Some people like to be in a bad mood all the time. Some people are generally in a bad mood for one reason or another, and some simply like the attention.

If this friend is younger it could be something as simple as hormones, or something wrong with home life. There is no easy way to answer, because there are so many possibilities as to what is going on, and each with their own unique method of handling.

The best thing to do is to just try to be there for them. Read their mood. If your presence seems to help then by all means, be there with them and try to cheer them up.

If they aren't responding well to you being around then give them some space. It could help them if they needed the space, and it should help you seeing as you don't have to be right next to the 'funk'.

They will probably be ok without you being there with them all the time, so it may be time to give that a shot.

It depends on why he is in a bad mood. If one of family members died and he or she has been at it for days, it's normal. But if they couldn't get over the death for half a month or a year then consoling clearly wouldn't work. Death of a love one is hard but you have to move on eventually, so I would pay a visit to a psychiatrist or a doctor with my friend. If they are sad because they lost a game or they had a break up then that's completely ridiculous ,especially if someone lost a game to you. They wouldn't be called "friends" if they are upset with you winning a game. If they failed something really important like an exam at school then tell them a joke and convince them that they are smart and motivate them. Motivational speeches always help me get my life back on track whenever i feel like I'm slacking off like a loser or when I fail something easily like five consecutive times. So there you have it, the more ridiculous the situation is, the less helpful I would be and the least I would do.

I had a friend that was always in a bad mood. He reminded me of that really old cartoon about the guy that always wore black robes and had a black cloud over his head all the time.

Often I could make him laugh but his bad mood always came back. He just was not a happy person. He always believed that the world owed him a living and that there was always someone who was to blame for what happened to him.

If your friend is this bad, there is nothing you can do except tell him to get some professional help. It seemed to me that he enjoyed how terrible his life was and did not want to change it.

If I were you, I would let him stew in his own juices while you find a friend that will laugh and have a good time with you and others.

I would ask indirectly with questions that can possibly lead to drawing out the reason. If the reason was easily solved, then I might help or prod my friend to take some kind of action.If the matter is unsolvable , then Id probably say that tomorrow is another day , maybe there will be changes that merit any action towards resolution.
If this goes on for a long time, then I wont do anything, just provide the company that takes the attention off the problem for even a few seconds or minutes. I know that shopping therapy helps, and so does food therapy.

at first I thought that I should be avoiding people who can create negativity around me. But through the years, I think you have a purpose why you were a friend of this person. You can help him get through life. and that's how it is. You help and you get helped. Good karma. So if my friend is always on the bad mood, I will try to check out first why and if know the reason already, I will just let him be that way for a while then see if some get away or a movie can take away the mood swings.