Ya your right Desi!!

lol Jas.
Well if they are worth putting up with. Some people are negative but are open to suggestions and willing to change, where some are just too stubborn, i'll leave t hem alone at a heart beat :)

I agree hrao. Good approach.

well, i would like to throw a hadith in here for refrence.

Prophet said that "If you join the company of a black smith then you will have the bad smell in you no matter what, and if you join the company of a flowerist then you will smell nice".
Point is you chose your freinds, and they don't have to be negative. Nothing wrong with sticking to your freinds, and helping them out, but if you start to hang around too much with people who are just negative by nature you will become like them .. it may depend on ur personality as to how strong you are. But still at the end of the day the negativity will rub off to you! So help them but hepling them and hanging around such people is different.
makes sense? comments/suggestions?

It depends on how good a freind this person is.
If Its an old Freind keep in touch but when they start on that negative roll , say you have to go ..remove your self from the situation before it gets too far. Call them some other time and repeat the above. First you won't feel guilty , and won't feel bad......with time the person will get the message...even if it is a long time. I've been there with a freind. 8 yrs later and we still talk.
I try not to burn bridges.

i dunno, some people are just negative and don't have any positive affect on one's life. these are bad people to be around. the problem for me is when these people are family members. you can't choose your family but you CAN chose your friends. i for one do not chose to surround myself with people with bad attitudes. call me unsympathetic and callous... but i don't think anyone who knows me would say that.

I dunno... but wouldn't u want to help your friend!? I have a friend who's down a lot of the times, but sticking to him makes him cheerful and happy. so my happiness rubs off on him :) True friends stick to each other :)

negativity is highly contagious. don't let it rub off on you or bring you down. sometimes you have to say goodbye to friends who are not good for your well-being.. even if you have sympathy for them. surround yourself with happy people and you will be much more happy :)

I'd say if the person is too negative and always is the "Drama Queen". As a friend I would let him know about his/her problem and give him/her a chance after you let them know and if it stil continues after that I would leave them alone and just keep in touch and not try to hang out because friends are supposed to be encouraging not start Drama in our lives. I mean yeah everyone has one of those days, but if those days are more than the normal days then whats the point of hanging out with such people who are just negative minded because what will happen that this will rub off to you as well sooner or later because we become whom we associate with in general, if not completely like them but still somethings will rub off. Anyways if I was you I?d really minimize my activities with such a person. It may sound cold/rude, but whats the point of having such people in life specially as friends.