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DonQuigleone · 2012-06-11, 12:39

I'd say the best advice I can give is that she should see a professional, either a counselor or psychologist.

There's a lot of things she's probably not comfortable saying to close friends/family, and on the flipside, her friends/family (who have likely not experienced depression the way she has) will not understand what depression is like, the way a shrink would.

From my own experience, going to a psychologist didn't cure me of my own deppression related problems, but it helped me start comfronting them in a more constructive manner.

But she also needs to have an underlying willingness to solve her problems, rather then wallow in them. This might sound strange, considering how unpleasant depression is, but some depressed people don't want help solving their problems. Either they think they're too worthless to deserve it, that no one understands them, or that there is no means to lift their melancholy.

There's also a lot of drama that goes on. The more dramatic depressives are not actually the ones at risk, though. It's the subdued ones, who tell you nonchalantly that they're going to commit suicide, they're the ones you really have to worry about. Not to say the dramatic ones aren't at risk, but when push comes to shove, they don't usually carry through, their threats were made primarily to garner pity (which is pathetic, but pretty typical).

EDIT: @mangamuscle: that sort of thing doesn't work. Depression is usually existential in it's origin, not practical. Practical solutions don't achieve anything. The solution to depression lies in the depressed person's head. There is no other real way to solve depression (of course, drugs work too...)

2012-06-11, 12:39	Link #133
DonQuigleone Knight Errant Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Dublin, Ireland Age: 35	I'd say the best advice I can give is that she should see a professional, either a counselor or psychologist. There's a lot of things she's probably not comfortable saying to close friends/family, and on the flipside, her friends/family (who have likely not experienced depression the way she has) will not understand what depression is like, the way a shrink would. From my own experience, going to a psychologist didn't cure me of my own deppression related problems, but it helped me start comfronting them in a more constructive manner. But she also needs to have an underlying willingness to solve her problems, rather then wallow in them. This might sound strange, considering how unpleasant depression is, but some depressed people don't want help solving their problems. Either they think they're too worthless to deserve it, that no one understands them, or that there is no means to lift their melancholy. There's also a lot of drama that goes on. The more dramatic depressives are not actually the ones at risk, though. It's the subdued ones, who tell you nonchalantly that they're going to commit suicide, they're the ones you really have to worry about. Not to say the dramatic ones aren't at risk, but when push comes to shove, they don't usually carry through, their threats were made primarily to garner pity (which is pathetic, but pretty typical). EDIT: @mangamuscle: that sort of thing doesn't work. Depression is usually existential in it's origin, not practical. Practical solutions don't achieve anything. The solution to depression lies in the depressed person's head. There is no other real way to solve depression (of course, drugs work too...)