My closest friend lost his father eight weeks ago. In the weeks since, he has gone from someone I spoke to daily to someone who doesn\'t return calls, doesn\'t reply to messages, and has basically withdrawn from everyone who cares about him. I understand, intellectually, that this is part of grief — isolation is a common response. But I don\'t know how to help someone who seems to be refusing help.
I\'ve tried different approaches: showing up at his place (he didn\'t answer), leaving food outside his door with a note (I don\'t know if he received it), sending long messages (no reply), short messages (no reply), funny memes to give him a moment of lightness (no reply). I don\'t want to crowd him. But I also don\'t want to give up on him to the point where he feels abandoned.
Is there a right answer here? Do you keep reaching out even without a response, trusting that the reaching matters even if it\'s not acknowledged? Or does there come a point where you give space and wait? I\'m scared of getting this wrong either way — being too present and pushing him further away, or stepping back and having him think I\'ve moved on.