That's a good letter @BlueBay
You write very well - you have put together a piece that could be published in a woman's magazine and it does explain what you need and what you are prepared to give - it's very open - and it's honest
I don't have close friends either - I am in touch with my daughter and my grand-daughter and I have my regular domestic and shopping help. I go to my medical clinic twice a week and the local shops where people know me and I get along well with everyone -
But friends - no - I open up with people here and with a couple of my regular workers but apart from that I am alone and luckily that's okay with me -
My parents moved us around a lot when we were young. They never asked us if we wanted to go to the same schools - just uprooted us - I tended to put my emotional energy into making new friends rather than keeping up with people I would never and never did see again. Then I worked in the city for years and just didn't keep in touch
I had friends at church but I left the church - I still have my faith but there came a time when I found it too hard to go because of something that had happened there -
However I am okay with my life and find I have plenty to do at home. The man from My Aged Care who assessed my situation wrote that I am socially isolated and that annoyed me because I don't feel that way - my days are full of reading, writing, internet access and playing the piano - I'm never bored or lonely
There are times when I wish I had a buddy - I have done in the past but things fell apart - chronic pain can be as hard for other people to understand as Mental Illness - people say the same kind of things that seem unkind though I don't think they are meant to be.
Anyway - what I did learn and put into practise for my kids was that we didn't move around - they asked us not too and we listened to them - to this day my daughter has her friends from school and I am glad she does -
And I am okay with my life - when I travel people are amazed that I am travelling alone - it would be great to have someone to travel with but honestly I have learned to be alone and like it - I am into making my own decisions about what to do and when to do it
But this is me - my earlier years were not easy - still have tough bitzpiecez though life - but I am really fine most of the time and like it
Dec
More like if you were writing to a group of friends and telling them how life is like for people with MI, even if that's only a brief "It can be difficult to connect with friends so here are some of the ways friends can help...", and the best ways they could support? Even if you don't share it with friends in real life yourself, maybe it could be a resource on here for people to share with their friends? Resources to help friends of people with MI aren't easy to find and we're sure a lot of people would appreciate it 
