When someone you know is depressed, it’s understandable if you feel helpless. If you’ve never suffered from clinical depression, how are you going to know what to say and do, or how it feels? Ways to Help a Depressed Person Listen. Keep in mind that the depressed person isn’t communicating well right now, and is [...]
It is most tempting, when you find out someone is depressed, to attempt to immediately fix the problem. However, until the depressed person has given you permission to be their therapist (as a friend or professional), the following responses are more likely to help. The things that didn’t make me feel worse are words which [...]
Some people trivialize
depression (often unintentionally) by dropping a platitude on a
depressed person as if that is the one thing they needed to hear. While
some of these thoughts have been helpful to some people (for example,
some find that praying is very helpful), the context in which they are
often said mitigates any intended benefit to the hearer. Platitudes
don’t cure depression.
If you’re involved with someone who’s depressed, you’ve probably seen quite a few lists (including some that I’ve written) that tell you how to be supportive of your partner. And yes, these are a great idea, as the person who is depressed is in hell, plain and simple. However, you have to think about yourself [...]
Friday, February 27, 2009
As I’ve said before, I’ve been on both sides of the depression fence. I’ve suffered from clinical depression for almost forty years, although thankfully it’s been treated successfully for the last twenty. And although I haven’t had any family members with depression, I have had friends who were depressed and have been in relationships with men [...]
