How to Support Your Friends with Depression

Seeing someone that you love struggle with depression can be really difficult, and you may feel helpless. This doesn't have to be the case. There are plenty of ways to support someone struggling.

The first thing to do if you suspect that someone close to you is experiencing depression is to educate yourself on the signs and symptoms of depression so that you can better recognise how they’re feeling.

Once you have done this, it’s a really good idea to open up a dialogue with your friend.

Encouraging them to talk about how they feel may help them to feel less alone and will give you a better understanding of the situation.

However, be careful to not push or force them into speaking about something if they are not ready to. If they aren’t quite ready to talk, reassure them that you are there for them, that you care and you want to listen.

It’s really important to not judge your friend and to support them, even if they seem reluctant to get help. You can encourage them to make little changes, such as doing something they enjoy, staying active and eating healthily.

Gathering information on resources available to them and talking to them about this may encourage them to seek professional help. You could offer to join them for support on an appointment to their GP.

Be cautious to not rush them.

Make sure to keep in touch with them and regularly check up on them. This will help them to feel less isolated. It’s a good idea to invite them to go for a tea or coffee, or offer to meet up, even if they say no. It's important to be patient and not to be critical.

Another way you can support is by helping to destigmatize talking about mental health issues. This can help other people speak out about how they feel if more people are educated and they feel as though they won't be judged or looked at differently for expressing their feelings.

Although having someone close to you struggling with their mental health is difficult, it's so important to take care of yourself as well. If you feel as though you are taking on too much responsibility, or that your friend is relying on you too much, it's perfectly fine if you feel as though you need to pull back a bit, or to talk to someone about how you’re feeling.

You should not put your own mental health at a detriment by helping others.

If you are worried that your friend is at risk of hurting themselves or somebody around them, or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, you or them need to contact a GP or phone NHS 111.

By Aisia Lea.