Saying The Right Things To Depressed People

I must admit, it's very difficult to know exactly the right things to say when you're talking to people who are depressed. Especially if they're your close friends living in the Northwest. Non-psychologist Steven Blum, a Seattle blogger in residence compiled an insightful list of tips on "How To Talk To Depressed People" lumping them into a kind of subculture. I instantly recognized that I could not have written a better list myself. One of my favorites is;

"Don't tell them to write on a blog. Depression blogs are depressing and cause more people to suffer from depression blogging." - Steven Blum

I realize that depression is not a subject to joke about. A few friends of my own recently contacted me and asked if I've been depressed, citing that they found many of my recent posts totally depressing. Nice! They're now off my friends list for at least two weeks until I fully recover from depression caused by their honest and refreshingly candid banter. Read Steven's entire post and prepare to laugh out loud. He's good! 

Comments

[julie]

A call from an old friend is usually my cure for depression...especially when complicated by the worst sinus/cold/flu thing ever known by man.Thanks for the laughs.You make me feel 13 again. 13 and fat, but still 13.

[Steven Blum]

Thankya!

[katrina]

Well, jeez, maybe if you'd turn down the Evanescence and post a little less about lost love, despair of lost love and more lost love, people wouldn't freak out and call you out of the blue to make sure you still have a pulse. Ever think about that, huh? ;-)

[Mrss]

You guys are mistaking feeling "down" for normal reasons for actual depression. REAL depression is a disease and its agonizing. People end their lives because it becomes too much to bear. These people aren't weak or crazy, and their suffering is as real as that of people who are physically ill. I went through a bout of clinical depression after a family member was killed in an accident. Those months were hell.