Non stop phone calls! What do I do?

[lil75]

I feel guilty writing this but a mate of mine just doesnt stop ringing me, I know she has had problems with her ex husband and I have given her every answer I can possibly think of, this has been going on for months, she will ring 1st thing in the morning and talk for an hour to an hour and a half, and will then ring again when its time to make dinner later in the early evening.

I have a biggish house, a partner and 2 children to take care of and she doesnt take this into consideration, and I reckon on average I spend at least 16 hours a week on the phone to her, its getting silly now, sometimes my partner comes home from work and his dinner isnt even started cos ive been stuck on the phone! I do tell her that I have things to do, but she takes it on board for all of 5 mins and carries on going on about the same thing, her ex, that we have been discussing for months on end. The questions are always the same as are my answers

I dont want to upset her, or ignore her calls, but how do I wean her off me as its getting out of control. I have helped her in every way possible but it is repetative and I cant keep spending that amount of time on the phone, I have my children to think of and would rather spend some quality with them rather than this amount of hours on the phone in a week. What can I do to get it to calm down a bit?

[lynbrown]

Your friend needs more help than you can offer her. By continuing to let her rant on, you are keeping the wound open. Tell her that you are unable to chat for a couple of days as you have family coming to stay ( or any other lie). I like the idea of putting her on here, I find it a helpful site.