What does he mean?

[S deleted]

Hey it’s cool. Not saying you are smothering him, that’s not the same as feeling smothered. I broke up with someone a year ago for pretty much the same thing. I simply couldn’t cope with the pressure of a relationship. As I said it’s hard enough trying to cope with your own problems without having to worry about the effect you’re having on someone else. It’s easy to see yourself as a burden on others and “kinder” to end it than have them suffer alongside you. I know from your side that isn’t the way you see it but that doesn’t mean his decision isn’t right for him. It’s one less stress/worry to deal with and he probably doesn’t want to be alone but right now he can’t be in a relationship. By being “just friends” he gets to have you in his life without any pressure or commitment and that I think is unfair on you cos it sounds like you still want and need more from him than that and if he can’t offer that it’s definitely best for you to walk away.

I wasn’t trying to be nasty, just making an observation that we got more broken hearts trying to get back with a depressed partner than people in a new relationship wanting help living with this illness of partners with new diagnoses looking for information which to me, I see a huge difference between them.