This Is What You Need To Understand When You Love Someone With Depression
Let them know they are never alone.
When you love someone with depression, you must understand that depression is not sadness. It is not feeling blue, or simply having an off day or week. It is not something they can simply snap out of. They cannot “choose” happiness instead, despite what Pinterest may tell you.
The thing you must understand when you love someone with depression is that it is an illness and one that can be absolutely debilitating.
It is a weight that can keep them from leaving their bed, crashing waves that keep them from reaching out when they are drowning. Depression is the leech that drains them of all of their energy, their feeling, their willpower. It is their own voice in the back of their mind that tells them they are unlovable, that they are not good enough. It is the stubborn and pervasive belief that it will never get better.
Even if you know these things about them are not true, that they are worthy of love and more than enough, you must realize that these beliefs are very real to them. It is part of the illness. These are its symptoms.
So instead of telling them that what they feel is simply not true, acknowledge their pain. Explain that even though you know how loved…
