depression, ...what to do? Options

[blonde@<3]

my friend is goin thru some rough times and i don't know what to do! i tell her i'm here whenever she needs to talk and no matter how bad everything gets she always has family and friends and everything else. what can i do to maybe lift her spirits a little?

[*brownsugar08*]

--> Relationships

[love-issosweet]

tell her everything will be okay. gives hugs, and be extra nice. life has it's ups and downs; when you're going through rough times, there'll always be something good showing up.

[synthase]

make her feel good // but not annoyed ; by telling/reminding her you love her and will always be there for her no matter what. HUG HER loads of times, compliment her on what shes wearing =), give her a cute get-well card, invite her on the weekends or this coming vacation to watch funny movies, have fun sleepovers ; you know...what best friends do

[`Kiwi]

♥ ♥ ♥
I wish my friends would be there for me when I
need someone. When I told them I went on anti-depressants and had
to go to counceling they just laughed at me and said my Mom is retarded
for making me go on them.

But um...just keep doing what you're doing. Is she on anti-depressants
or going to counceling? If not, I think you should talk to someone. You
can always talk to a councelier at your school and do it annonymously
and that way your friend wouldn't know it was you who told someone
you think she's depressed. Whatever you do, though, tell someone.

Because I've learned that when you're depressed if you just deny it
its true that you really are. Plus, if she doesn't get help, and she's truly
depressed, she WILL try to do something to herself. Its not a question
of if but WHEN. Because when you're depressed, and if you're not on
medicine or getting counceling, you snap just like that, and it happens.
There's no stopping it even if you never think you'd do anything bad to
yourself in a million years. Your brain just stops functioning and your
body does it. So get someone to help her, hun. <3

Just keep being a good friend and do what you think is right. Even if she
finds out and gets mad, its better to tell someone because she'll thank you
in the long run. ^_^
+ + +
♥ ♥ ♥

[ficklenesswhatev...]

let her know people are there

if she's religious, suggest reading the bible...that always works.

leave hidden notes saying how special and amazing she is

[*mipadi*]

Is she really depressed, or just sad? There is a difference, and both conditions require different approaches. Making a sad person happy is a fairly straightforward approach (easier said than done, of course), but a truly depressed person often requires professional help. I have two friends who are clinically depressed; both became so depressed that they stopped leaving their rooms and barely ate anything. Both ended up dropping out of college in the last semester of their senior year. If your friend is truly depressed, you should certainly seek help for her.

[o0olaalaa]

tickle her!

[Paradox of Life]

^ You know, normally I would be like "Wow, that was really necessary", but I think it'd be really nice to cheer her up like that, haha. It's like forcing her to be happy. But yeah, I think that's really cute.

Don't start any drama. Help her unconditionally. Everyone has rough times in their life. The only way they can get through it is with a support system.

[NgocQuyen]

lols tell her that life can only get better from here...because its seriously true...i mean sometimes life isn't as bad as you think it is....its all in the mind...life is only hard if you think it's hard....everything happens for a reason and she should accept things for the way they are. i CAN and WILL get better

[_sarcastic_]

take her out and have some fun

[mzislandpinay]

maybe you could take her out on a "you and her" day. You two could just have lots of fun and talk abouts lots of things. I take my friends who are sad out for ice-cream and they feel better.

[AnnahhbeL]

talk to her.
tell her what a great friend she is.
give her a nice big hug.

=]

[EyeOfTheTiger5]

When my friends are feelin down, what I do is (in addition to being extra nice) talk about normal things, things that they care about or talk about when they're feeling good. Smile a lot, too. It's amazing how much smiling can change a person's mood.

What you do not want to do is be overly and extremely upbeat and happy, because that will make them resent you or everyone around them. You should be cheerful, but still mellow.

[*swtcherriipie*]

wrong section.

[sheepy]

show her some geniune concern, not like as someone said "cheer up", dont say it, HELP her do it.

[xosteffanator]

put yourself in her shoes- how would you feel? would you feel smothered if you were constantly hugged, complimented, and etc? Tell her you don't want anything bad to happen to her and you don't want to lose her, and that the best thing to do is go to councelling(sp?) tell her she's not alone-that you're going through this together. And tell her not to do anything stupid b/c if she's gone you'll really miss her. Try you're hardest to cheer her up. Find out her problems-is she constantly fighting w/ her parents, is she doing bad in school, is she frustrated with her social life? You need to identify the problem.
I hope this helps you and your friend

[*swtcherriipie*]

Id take her out like to the fair!!! Or the park!!

[LittleFlyingCow]

let her know people are there

if she's religious, suggest reading the bible...that always works.

leave hidden notes saying how special and amazing she is

I like the hidden notes idea...that would be so cute.

Have a surprise part for her with all her friends there, or buy her favourite kind of candy and give it to her in school, or just be extra nice to her. Try not to overdue being nice though...that can just get annoying.

I'm not the greatest at supporting my friends I'm afraid I try but it's hard for me to know what to say, but when words fail hugs go miles

[FoxBandCutie08]

Whenever she looks down, take her out or invite her to your house and find something fun to do. Whenever she needs something be there for her.

[yo pusha]

whip it out

[xxxSiERRAxxx]

♥♥♥

You love her like a sister, right?
Good answer.
If you love her, in the most sensitive way you can, say, "Ya know, I love ya like a sister. You need to know that (insert her name here). If you want me to, I'll talk to you now. If you don't, I'll leave. Just tell me what you want, and your wish is my command!!!!" (if she says anything besides leave, say this:) "Well! Okay then sis! I'll do that for ya on one condition - SMILE! Smile like you've never smiled before!" (keep urging her to make a bigger smile, and only stop until a couple seconds after she looks like she knows she looks like the silliest thing in the world, so you guys start cracking up)
If you love her, you'll help her. Change the above convo to fit your relationship with her ;) Oh yeah, whatever you do, do NOT bring up past memories, it might make her think about what made her depressed. And you do NOT want that, iight?
♥♥♥

Oh yeah.
If she asks you to leave, give her a nice, long, tight (but not bear hug tight, only give her a bear hug if she starts smiling and/or laughing) hug. If she backs off during the middle of the hug, keep hugging her but a little bit gentler...

I love hugs.
You love hugs.
Your friend loves hugs.
Hugs rock.

[ichiban]

Invite her over with a bunch of good friends to watch some comedies; give her lots of hugs and tell her that youll be there for her no matter what; take her shopping!; tell her to read the Bible if she's christian, etc=)

[ecargnmyst]

take her out to do something fun to get her mind off her family..maybe a sleepover at a friends house..for a night..
but hey..wtvr shes going through..theres bound to be other ppl going through tougher times..look for other ppl whove delt w/ difficult problems..theyd understand..and stay strong

shes not alone..

[*iNyCxShoRT*]

I'd say; don't let her stay inside her house all day. Depressed or just plain sad. Fresh air helps you get better.