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What to Say to Someone with Depression

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Perspective is an amazing thing, and the way we see the world contributes a lot to our life experience. People are living longer than ever before, and it’s reasonable to think you’re going to live well into old age. But people who don’t see the world and life the same way because of depression are being robbed of that same positive perspective and looking forward to a good long life. Depression is caused by neurotransmitter imbalances in the brain, and so people become depressed were bound to have this happen to them. That really is a shame, so what to say to someone with depression?

Providing care and reassurance to a person when they are depressed is definitely the right thing to do, and there are things to say to help a depressed person. They have no control over feeling the way that they do, and that’s why the most effective approach for depression treatment almost starts with antidepressant medication. But talk therapy is certainly a part of it too for a lot of people and that doesn’t have to mean they need to see a psychotherapist. Counselling may be effective and it’s true you may not know what to say to someone with depression.

A mental health professional, but the majority of people have no expertise there at all. It may be true that your dad would have told you to buck up if you went to him in your teens and told him you were depressed, but that’s not helpful and that’s not the way you help someone with depression nowadays. You may have bucked up just fine, but not everyone can and they’ll likely need to see a doctor and then begin depression treatment and working with a counsellor.

Supportive and Understanding

It doesn’t need to be complicated or dramatic when it comes to what to say to someone with depression. You can start by telling them that you understand they are going through a tough time and that it’s okay to say you need help. Then you can say that there IS professional help and there are also plenty of women who will help you get over depression in other ways. For some individuals it is helpful to tell them that depression is such a very common mental health condition and it is easy for people to become depressed, especially when their genetics is paired with certain life trends.

Tell them that they’ll get through this, and what doctors will tell them is that antidepressant medications are extremely effective, and antidepressants are safe. Many people will think of Prozac right away when someone talks about this type of medication, and Fluoxetine has been one the most helpful drugs ever for depression based on the sheer number of prescriptions written for Prozac since it was introduced in 1987.

4.5 million were filled in the first 5 years, and Eli Lily was quickly doing $2.6 billion in annual sales. Is the history of Prozac something you’d include in what to say to someone with depression? Probably not, but they may be more receptive to it if you give them a backrub at the same time. Other things to say to help a depressed person can include reminding them of all the things they enjoy in life, and if it’s possible for you to arrange some of these activities for them that’s a great idea.

Suggestive Too

The next thing we’ll say around what to say to someone with depression is that for people of faith it can be helpful to speak to the person in relation of the ability to find strength there while they are working through depression and waiting for antidepressants to work. There are a number of psalms in the bible that talk about depression, and David and Saul were two characters in the holy book that wrestled with depression. If the person you’re helping is a big wrestling fan you can tell them that Andre went through a short period of depression after Hogan slammed him at WrestleMania 3.

You can also approach to what to say to someone with depression by suggesting ways they can enhance their recover from depression. One the best ways to augment treatment is to incorporate CBT for depression. That stands for cognitive behavioral thinking, and the idea behind it is that you can ‘change your thinking, change your life’. There are many people that rave about how it’s been the different maker for them with depression treatment and how it is not best to rely on the antidepressant to fix everything entirely.

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