How do you tell your depressed boy friend that you are dating someone else?

Answer 1

Depression is a tough part of life to be in and before you ever started dating someone else you should have sat down (perhaps in a restaurant) and quietly told your boyfriend you needed to have a break for a bit and not rushed out and started dating too quickly. The last thing this poor guy needs is something more to depress him and that is why you should have handled it long before now. Since you didn't, handle this very carefully. If he is an angry person, then he could become angrier and you've heard enough on the news and read in papers that sometimes break-ups from someone who is depressed does not always end happily. If this person is of a quiet nature, then you'd better find out just how depressed he is and at least help him seek out some professional help before you walk away permanently. You must realize you have become an intricate part of his life and someone he probably relies on. If you can, go and have a private talk to his mother. Tell her what you feel in your heart, that you are sorry it ended this way, and you don't want to hurt her son. At least she will be aware of it.

Pain can heal but scars are forever. If you truly care about him, tell him the truth. Tell him that you want him as a friend and that you would rather talk as friends about separating rather than doing something to hurt him more. You have to understand that he may not want to speak to you for a while based him feeling betrayed. This betrayed feeling will pass through time and then you'll see if a friendship can be salvaged. Either or both of you will hurt, but you can control the pain by being honest to him and yourself.