How to help someone with depression when you are depressed

What are the signs of being depressed? How do you test for depression? Recommend helping resources, such as therapy , online resources, or. Often, the simple act of talking face to face can be an enormous help to someone suffering from depression.

Encourage the depressed person to talk about their feelings, and be willing to listen without judgment. Don’t expect a single conversation to be the end of it.

Depressed people tend to withdraw from others and isolate themselves. Remind them that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Many people with depression take medication, if not several. One practical way you can help them is by educating yourself on how the medication works, what the side effects are, and knowing signs to look for that would indicate the treatment is not working or that your loved one has stopped taking a medication (i.e., withdrawal symptoms). That’s how someone with depression can feel all the time.

Make sure that they get out of the house on a regular basis, other than just to work or school. If you ’re depressed : Send this story to people who care about you so they can know how to really help you. If you ’re a friend (or family member, spouse, or co-worker) of someone who is depressed : Know it’s not entirely up to you to help them get better.

If someone in your life has depression , whether or not that person has a diagnosis, you might feel at a loss for how to best support that person.

The most important step toward helping a loved one with depression is to understand the symptoms. The best thing you can do for someone with depression is support his or her treatment. Tell your friend or loved one that depression is a medical problem and ignoring it will not make it go away. Someone with depression is not living in the same universe as you. The laws that govern your universe do not exist in theirs.

It can be incredibly frustrating to have people act like what you are experiencing is not real, or is wrong, or is not reality. Online Therapy with a Licensed Counselor. Available Anytime, Anywhere You Need It. The Time is Now to Put You rself First.

Appointment, Start Therapy Today! Get the Support You Need! Ask your loved one how you can help in small ways: Help schedule appointments. Provide a ride to and from appointments.

Grocery shop and do other tasks with your friend. Offer to take walks together a few times a week. Ask if you can help around the house. In another study of college roommates, researchers said that depression becomes more “contagious” when a depressed person refuses to share feelings and remains closed off, which is why it’s important to talk to a friend you think might be depresse and encourage the friend to open up.

Encouraging the person to get help While you can’t control someone else’s recovery from depression , you can start by encouraging the depressed person to seek help.

Getting a depressed person into treatment can be difficult. Sometimes depression feels unbearable. Some people get to the point where life doesn’t seem worth living. Suicidal thoughts aren’t unusual, and they’re nothing to be ashamed of.

They’re a sign that it’s time to talk to someone. For most people , feeling sad from time to time is just a natural part of life. Your task is to communicate.

This should be understandable, since depression is a health problem you can’t “see” or strictly measure, making it hard to combat. The constant work it takes to keep up all the necessary aspects of life while dealing with depression also drains the person, and leaves little room for patience or understanding. Talk to someone now: text us for confidential support.