How to support a depressed person?

 

Seeing your loved ones facing depression is something really hard. You feel that you just want to take their pain away and kill this depression .here are some things you can do to support them .

1.don't give them advices :

it can be very tempting to advice your partner or your best friend and tell them things like " you should  see a  therapist or you should exercise, eat healthy...." but it's completely wrong to advise them because they can't do that , they feel drown and they want you to listen to them not give them solutions . depression is a mental disorder not just a sadness it affects the person's mood and brain , depressed person feel hopeless and tired from everything

2. change the way you talk to them :

instead of giving them advice try to change the way you speak to them you can try to say things like : what did you try to fight depression ?or I heard that meditation helps in fighting depression .. saying these kinds of suggestions will make them feel that you are interested in helping them and you are just suggesting to them not directly advising them.

3.Remind them that you love them :

they might seems hopeless or careless about anything but trust me they want to hear you saying words like " i love you" or "i'm here for you "or " call me whenever you need something"  this will motivate them to fight depression and makes them know how much you love them even when they are not in a good mood . Most depressed people feel that no one loves them or cares about them. It's one of the effects of depression , so you need to remind them that you care about them all the time .

4 . give them space but be there for them:

if your partner wants to stay alone leave him alone , give him a space to think and give him time to heal , understand that they want to stay alone and don't take it personal , maybe they don'T want to be a burden on you and they feel better when they stay alone sometimes  . But also be there for them and check on them either by calling them or texting them , even if you visit them for five minutes don't pass a day without checking on them they might feel so lonely and harm themselves even though they would ask you to leave , you need to be smart with them and do your best .

5.understand their feelings : 

don't blame your partner and judge them , many people get shocked when seeing their happy active partner depressed  and they say things like " you changed " or " you became lazy " or "why you don't take care of yourself" this will make them feel worse about themselves and they might even hide their feelings in order not to judge them .So understand how they feel and don't judge them and accept them in all the cases .

6.be patient and take care of yourself :

Dealing with a depressed partner can be very exhausting so remember to take care of yourself and protect your energy and don't blame yourself , you have to see yourself as a supporter not a fixer. your duty towards them is to support them not to change them because it's not possible to change people and it's not your responsibility to fix them as well .So be supportive and take care of yourself.

7. remind  them that they can get better:

Your depressed partner may feel hopeless , remind them that they are strong and they will get better , it's just a period and it will pass . remind your partner that he/she won't have to deal with depression forever , tell them that things will change for the better and you are willing to  support him/her during depression.