Advice for helping a friend with depression

Hi Electric,

I am sorry that your friend is going through a difficult time; I can imagine it is hard to see her go through this and feel so helpless. As someone who has suffered with depression, I think the best thing my friends did for me was just to listen and be present. Sometimes that just means letting your friend talk about it and getting it all out, while you just listen and hold her hand. Sometimes that could mean bringing over snacks and trashy movies to distract her. Mostly, anything that makes it so she doesn't feel like she is alone in this great big world.

It can be difficult to hear someone you love talking about the pain they feel. It is not necessary to give a verbal response; listening is the best and most helpful thing you can do to help her feel valued.

Sending many positive thoughts to you and your friend.

 

Just remember you don't need to have any solutions. There is no magical fix for depression. She's already getting treatment, so she's headed in the right direction. I think the best thing to do is continue what you're doing. Just be there for her and listen when she needs to talk. You don't necessarily need to say anything. A lot of the time, I think people just need to be heard.

Just keep being an active friend. I've struggled with depression myself, and for me, when I'm depressed, I convince myself that my friends don't actually like me and are better off without me, so I cut myself off from them, which makes me very lonely and even more depressed. Sometimes I need people to reassure me that they enjoy my company, so like what HappyStartsNow said, just going over to have a movie night and hang out can be really helpful to remind a depressed person, "hey, you're not alone. I care about you and enjoy spending time with you."

Good luck with everything. You're a great friend! She's lucky to have you. I hope she gets better; depression really sucks.