Have pissed off my friends

[Slibub]

Im going through a bit of a bad time at work (have been bullied quite badly) and struggling generally. Today I met my friends for food and we went to the cinema. I was running late cos of all the above and mentioned I was struggling, they said not to worry but to still come and join.

We spoke about it and friend kind of said not to put them through this again in my next job (they have been listening ears, as I am for them), which I agreed to.

stayed out for a few hours and bought one of them a cinema ticket as I had one spare. Towards the end of the film I stepped outside for a breather as was feeling unwell and messaged them to let them know that I wasn’t feeling great and was going to head home but had had a lovely day etc. They have seen the message and not replied and now I feel awful, like I’ve let them down etc .

I didn’t want to say my goodbyes in the cinema and thought I was doing the right thing by letting them know albeit over text.

feel sick and worried that they’re going to be angry about it

I’m sorry you’re having a sad time. I think you’re over thinking this because you’re generally feeling down. Try not to worry too much. If they are good old friends they’ll understand.

You sound very anxious OP. Don’t worry about your friend right now, they will just be worried about you. Try and relax and rest your mind. Give them a call in the morning and it will be ok. X

Sounds like you're feeling a little overwhelmed with everything going on. If I was in your shoes I'd leave it until tomorrow and if they still haven't replied, just send another message asking if you have upset any of them, apologise and reiterate to them that you're struggling a bit at the moment.
If they are still being funny with you they in my opinion they aren't real friends, as real friends would be there for you in hard times like these. I feel like your friends should be more understanding and empathetic towards you given what you're going through at work.

I mean this kindly OP but it may appear to them like even more drama coming from you to go off like that.

I'd keep your head down and not involve any in your problems for a while. Keep it light.

Being harassed or bullied not only affects the individual directly, it also affects their relationships with everyone close to them. It takes maturity to be able to support someone who is under that kind of extreme stress. I think people who have never been bullied may struggle to imagine what it feels like.

When it happened to me, I didn’t get away from it quickly enough and I know I damaged some friendships by talking about it so much. But I couldn’t not talk about it because it squashed me out of shape.

I think you need to deal with the bullying situation first. Don’t worry about your friends.