Best Things to Say to Someone Who Is Depressed
It's not always easy to know what to say to someone who is depressed. Sometimes well-meaning family and friends don't understand what's going on and the comments they make only make their loved one feel worse. People with depression don't want their condition minimized or treated as though it's something they can just "get over". Here is a list made up by people with depression of good things to say:
- "I love you!"
- ."I Care."
- "You're not alone in this."
- "I'm not going to leave/abandon you."
- "Do you want a hug?"
- "I love you (if you mean it)."
- "It will pass, we can ride it out together."
- "When all this is over, I'll still be here (if you mean it) and so will you."
- "Don't say anything, just hold my hand and listen while I cry."
- "All I want to do know is give you a hug and a shoulder to cry on.."
- "Hey, you're not crazy!"
- "May the strength of the past reflect in your future."
- "God does not play dice with the universe." - A. Einstein
- "A miracle is simply a do-it-yourself project." - S. Leek
- "We are not primarily on earth to see through one another, but to see one another
through." - (from someone's sig)
- "If the human brain were simple enough to understand, we'd be too simple to
understand it." - a codeveloper of Prozac, quoted from "Listening to Prozac"
- "You have so many extraordinary gifts--how can you expect to live an ordinary
life?" - from the movie "Little Women" (Marmee to Jo)
- "I understand your pain and I empathize."
- "I'm sorry you're in so much pain. I am not going to leave you. I am going to take
care of myself so you don't need to worry that your pain might hurt me."
- "I listen to you talk about it, and I can't imagine what it's like for you. I just can't
imagine how hard it must be."
- "I can't really fully understand what you are feeling, but I can offer my
compassion."
- "You are important to me."
- "If you need a friend..... (and mean it)"
- "I'll be here for you, no matter what happens."
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