Living with depression is a challenge, as the broad range of symptoms can vary in severity from causing discomfort to becoming completely debilitating. It’s also tough to watch someone you love struggle with depression. It’s natural to want to help, but how can you offer your support in a meaningful way that comes from a place of understanding? Below, we’ll explore some practical tips you can use.
Educate Yourself
Learn about depression to understand the causes, symptoms, and potential treatment options so you can empathize and offer your support. Depression is complex and trying to simplify the experience could make your loved one feel worse. Seek out services that specialize in relevant areas, such as support for veterans, first responders, and frontline healthcare workers. They can provide you with advice on how to provide support.
Listen
Sometimes all someone needs is to feel like they are heard. If your loved one wants to talk, let them do so without offering unsolicited advice. Simply listen, validate their emotions, and never dismiss their feelings or imply they need to “fix” themselves.
Suggest Professional Support
Speaking with a therapist or other mental health professional can help the person access the tools they need to start feeling better. Suggest that they seek out help and offer them reassurance that doing so is a good thing.
Encourage Self-Care
Dealing with depression is hard. It makes performing regular daily tasks like going to work, cleaning up the house, and even basic self-care like taking a shower or brushing your teeth feel impossible. Yet, good nutrition, proper hygiene, and exercise can all help the depressed person feel better.
Encourage your loved one to take good care of themselves even when they are experiencing a depressive episode. You can help make this easier by offering to drop off groceries, suggesting that you attend a yoga class together, or just providing them with companionship to get them motivated to make an effort.
Stay Connected
People with depression often tend to withdraw from social activities and isolate themselves from others. While it may seem more comfortable for them to stay at home, this self-isolation can actually make them feel worse.
Stay connected by offering to spend time together. You could watch a movie, make dinner, or take a walk. If your person isn’t up for company, stay in touch with phone calls or texts. This simple act of showing you care by staying present in their life can make a big difference to them.
Offering your support to someone struggling with depression should begin by educating yourself to understand more about the condition and how you can effectively offer your support.
Remember to stay patient, listen carefully, and do your best to create a safe and loving environment that is nonjudgmental. Providing someone with a space where they feel accepted as they are can help empower them to process their feelings and seek out the help they need to overcome their depression. It’s important to remind a person struggling with depression and yourself that depression is an illness and not something that sould be ignored.
