5 Things You Need To Know If Someone You Love Is Depressed

It’s hard to know exactly what to do when someone you love is depressed. There’s little that’s understood about depression. Here are some things we do know.

1. It’s not a conscious choice.

If you love someone who’s depressed, know that they didn’t choose to be depressed. Depression is often caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. You can’t exactly choose that.

2. Platitudes don’t help.

Scratch sentences like “You’ll get over it,” and “Come on, look on the bright side!” These social platitudes about depression do nothing to improve the mood of the person who’s depressed.

3. It’s hard to understand when you’re not in it.

Depression is a disease that is difficult to understand when you aren’t the one who’s depressed or have never suffered it yourself. With that in mind, you shouldn’t try to fix it for them or tell them what to do about it.

4. You can always be there for them.

When your loved one is depress, they might pull away from you. You should know that it’s not a sign they don’t love you anymore or anything like that. It also isn’t a sign that they don’t need you. They still do. Even if they push away from you, be there for them.

5. Depression is exhausting.

When your loved one is depressed, you’ll probably see them pull back from things they love doing. Don’t ever take it personally if they don’t want to hang out. Being depressed is physically and mentally exhausting. When you’re depressed, you don’t want to go out and do things.

It’s hard to know exactly what to do when someone you love is depressed. There’s little that’s understood about depression. Here are some things we do know.