TEN HELPFUL THINGS THAT FRIENDS DID WHEN I WAS DEPRESSED:

1. Assumed that I was generally feeling worse than I was letting on (this was nearly always correct).
2. Checked in on me frequently.
3. Answered messages from me the moment they got them – their response was more important to me than I cared to admit.
4. Reassured me that the feeling was being caused by biological problems. It was real, not imagined. Many people experience it. It can be cured and it will pass. They told me that one day I would feel like myself again (they were right)
5. Reduced my stress. Stress sapped my brain’s ‘feel-good’ chemicals. My friends picked up groceries, helped cook meals, and even tidied the house. I’m not saying a friend should do it all, just that they can help out and reduce your ‘load’.
6. Ensured that I was not left alone any more than was absolutely necessary. This was especially true of going to bed at night and of getting up in the morning.
7. One friend became my ‘Interweb Buddy’ (the helped research symptoms etc. while protecting me from too much negative information which my mind would have totally focused on while ignoring anything positive).
8. Helped organize medical appointments and counselling sessions.
9. Helped get me to my appointments and kept me company when necessary.
10. Did their best to understand how I was feeling.