MY Fight Against Depression

How to Help Someone With Depression

I've dealt with depression personally as you know. Although what you don't have the knowledge of is that I happen to have MANY depressed friends, unfortunately. My friend who we'll call John, lately has appeared suicidal. He physical harms himself in front of others by dragging his knuckles against brick walls. He's been teased about his weight. John is an extremely exceptional friend, trumpet player, son, and brother. I genuinely consider John to be quite canny and bright (especially in history which I happen to desperately suck at). But in spite of my opinion, he's surrendering his future. He has a dream of being an astrophysicist I recall. I doubtlessly believe he can succeed and successfully reach his dream. As JB once sang, "Never say never". Unfortunately when you suffer from depression, you simply capitulate and succumb to the daunting dismal notion. John prepared to end his life countless times and had acquired a plan for each time. I could not helplessly linger by and persist in such style. Nor will I remain uninvolved in the conflict at hand and let dozens of other vulnerable people fall victim to this disorder. If your friend, or you, experience depression or any symptoms of depression, consider following a few ideas listed below:

***NOTE: Before you continue you must realize you can not "fix" this depression on your own or with a friend. Life isn't this cliche book you read where the prince saves his princess from depression and they live happily ever after. I have met people who've been able to fight through their depression by themselves (wouldn't recommend it), but it's rare your depression will be supposedly "fixed" or cured. I recommend if you are suffering from depression you get professional help. Help from me, a friend, or family member is fantastic, but we can not provide all that you require. If your friend is depressed, I recommend approaching an adult about the situation. Even if your friend would grow resentful, what is right for them is receiving the help before something severe results. Although attempt to back down at first for a bit if they aren't ready, they might just need a few days to prepare themselves.

Track their mood each day out of a scale of one a day. Have them write a page about their day in a journal, which you could then review at the end of the week to see if progress has been made or lost.

Don't let them give up things they love. Due to being succumbed to sorrow, an abundant amount of people act and feel as if the importance in the world has drained away. They'll question What's the point of this? And although they may appear as if they despise what they once loved, it is the depression talking. It's as if they are under the influence and the drug called depression is controlling them. You can not refuse this drug, having it constantly running through your veins until you're no longer you. Giving up the things they once love will only lead to more heartache having nothing to accomplish and containing more time to contemplate life (which usually isn't a good thought).

Ask open-ended questions. Instead of jumping in with your opinion and feelings, instead question your friend about what she's feeling. A few examples would be, "When did you begin feeling like this?", "Did something happen that made you start feeling this way?", and Instead of asking, "Are you sad?", consider asking "What emotions are you feeling?" and "Is there anything I can do to help you?"". All these questions are probable of relief some stress from the friend. Talking like this with a suicidal person might just save their life. If interested in this tactic to find more questions click this link,

Give physical contact. And no, don't feel up your friend because she's down and you want to "get with that" in hopes to cheer her up, or go and have sex with them. Offer a simple hug, or a rub on the back. Maybe give them a friendly back massage which can release stress according to . If your friend is uncomfortable with touch, try bringing an animal. Maybe a cat or dog (DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT, BRING A PET SPIDER IF THEY ARE AFRAID OF SPIDERS)

Emphasise not sympathize. Sympathy is demonstrated as feeling bad for your friend, for example, "I am sorry for your loss". Empathy is about sharing the burden of the pain with your friend. You attempt and what to feel what your friend is feeling and relate on a deeper note, for example, "I feel your pain about losing Darrel, I know how much you loved him". You are figuratively placing your feet in their shoes, seeing the situation from their persepective.To emphasize with someone you must have minimum knowledge of who they are and what they are pursuing. As John Steinbeck once wrote, "It means very little to know that a million Chinese are starving unless you know one Chinese who is starving."