Best Things to Say to Someone Who is Depressed 

One of the hardest parts of depression is that nobody can see the pain, or the fact that you're fighting. You are an inspiration, Doug. You are fighting your own depression yet continue to reach out to help others battling with depression. Thank you so much and keep going! I'm sending positive thoughts your way.

Sometimes, the best thing to "say", is nothing at all. Sometimes, we just want you to listen.

1. Validation 2. Compassion It's usually so hard to explain what I need, but this simple answer hits the nail on the head!

What not to say 1. Try to give advice. Eg. Don't be so negative. Their brain chemistry is imbalanced this won't help 2. I am sorry you are in pain tell me how I can help 3. Don't get angry. Don't take their negativity personally Patient is seeking validation. And Compassion. Say I see you are depressed I am sorry you are in so much pain What to say 1. I love you 2. I care 3. You are not alone in this 4. I will not abandon you 5. Do u want a hug 6. When all of this is over I will still be here and so will you 7. Will u like to hold my hand and talk about it 8. I cannot fully understand your feeling but I can offer you my compassion 9. I am sorry you are in so much pain 10. I have empathy for what you are going through 11. I am not going to leave you and going to take care of my self so you don't have to worry that your pain might hurt me 12. I cant imagine how hard it must be 13. You are important to me 14. If you need a friend I am here Pray for your friend.

I love you I care You're not alone in this I'm not going to leave or abandon you Do you want a hug? When all this is over, I'll still be here and so will you Would you like to talk about it? I'm sorry you're in so much pain I have empathy for what you're going through I'm not going to leave you, I'm going to take care of myself so you don't need to worry that your pain might hurt me I can't imagine how hard it must be You are important to me If you need a friend, I'm here

thanks a lot I've been doing everything wrong! :/ I care a lot for my girlfriend and I want her to get better thank you for making this video, I will try it out!!

I'd like to drop a joke for you, I think you'll like it: Why did Shakespeare only write with quills? Because pencils confused him: 2B or not 2B?

2:56 This one really hits the bell for me. Tell me if I'm wrong but, from my personal experience, I think that when you're in love with someone who's depressed, you tend to forget about taking care of yourself especially when that depressed loved one was once the major source of your hapiness. You try to give back as much hapiness as you've received but eventually, you just have to come face to face with the fact that you don't have the means to give back that hapiness... Especially if you don't fully have it in your own life (independantly from your partner) or don't share the same tastes as your partner. For the simple reason that even though you know your partner very well, you can't know exactly what she (or he) will make her (or him) happy every single time, because true hapiness is like peace of mind : it comes from within. A depressed person needs to seek within herself (or himself) to find the way out of depression and allow hapiness to come back into her (his) life. And that's REAALLLLY hard to understand for someone who's not depressed or has never been depressed (Understanding can take some time... But ACCEPTING it takes even longer). Medical treatment alone doesn't help someone to find their way out of depression. The depressed loved one, just like anyone suffering from depression, needs to do that "soulsearching" journey on their own and FOR their own (and that's probably why it can take so long sometimes...). It's SUPER-HARD for both people, the depressed person obviously but also the partner. Thank you for posting this !

90% people watching this are depressed and trying to help themselves out ....

I wish my parents could learn these words. I am in so much pain and their words of "comfort" are not very comforting...

Thank you so much for this. My daughter has depression and is in her 2nd year of university. Her roommates...who were so called friends...drove her out of her apartment because her depression "made her an issue"...and tried to get the landlord to evict. She is now back home as she has nowhere safe to live near the university...she has been able to stay in school only because her courses are online due to covid. Most of her friends have turned on her which know is not helping in her fight against depression. I never knew if what I was going to say next would make things worse and they haven't...but this video just reaffirms that for me. Thank you

I'm going through depression myself and here I am, watching this to comfort my sister because I can't seem to know how to comfort a person

i'm sorry. i can't fully understand what you are feeling right now. i can't imagine what it's like for you. i just can't imagine how hard it must be. i'm sorry. but i'm here. if you ever need a friend and ready to talk it through, always remember i am here. and i care. and i'm not going to leave you alone. you ARE important to me. i love you with all my heart.

This is very helpful. I have a few close friends who are really struggling with depression and I often find it difficult to know what to say, even though I myself have anxiety and depression. These are wonderful ideas and I intend to use them! I find your videos very helpful and am thankful for them. You are a kind, thoughtful person for reaching out to help others the way you do.

A friend is going through a dip and he doesn't want to share, but thank you so much for these phrases.

It's amazing to me that family and friends will post on FB how they care about depressed/suicidal people, yet avoid me when I reach out to them so I just keep my mouth closed

Thank you, my sister was recently diagnosed with depression so im trying my hardest to learn how i can be more supportive. I have spent the past few nights doing research and this video is byfar one one of the best!

I had to write these down. Thank you.

my guy is going through something that could change his future for the worst and he's super depressed. over time he got more and more frustrated/annoyed with me for not truly understanding what he's going through. it made him really careless and mean towards me. and so aggressively that we took time apart. i never know what to say to make him feel better so i used to just tell him to try not to think about it. i didn't mean to dismiss his feelings. never knew what to really say until now. so thank you and god bless you

Salve Doctore. Again your videos strike we with truth and insight. I can't thank you enough.

Thankyou so much for this video! My friend is going through a very tough time. He is depressed and wants space but at the same time he's afraid to be alone. Said these sentences. Thankyou 💕

This was VERY helpful, many thanks.

Thank you, you saved my dad's life though this channel

Thank you very much as I really felt lost and actually doing the opposite as I Can say to my girlfriend and I feel a relief now as this is much less energy depleting than I was actually doing. Thanks

When all this is over I'll still be here and so will you

Brilliant advice. I wish more people knew this stuff..

I really love your videos keep making more

What my family says to me is NOTHING. Their response to my depression is SILENCE. I feel alone and hopeless and terrified.

-Allah never burdens a soul beyond what it can bear. -In every difficulty there is ease ❤ - im here for u , i love u - i know u can get through this - u can do it, We can do it ! ❤

Thank you Doug. Keep up the good work.

Thank you.

hey I am to and we’re in similar situations but i hope your doing well but i wish people everywhere get better im stuck we’re my friend is at the point we’re they really need help but they say they’ve tried I wish i could just get someone to help but I don’t want to add attention because I’m scared they’ll be mad at me and hurt them selfs I also don’t want to go through the problem of talking with my parents. I just can’t stand talking to them since I get the whole conversation of how they hope I don’t ever kill my self and it’s very uncomfortable.

As a depressed person, what can you say to a friend, a former best friend, (who hurt you) without encouraging them to contact you more? And without blaming them? It's a group situation so it's complicated. Isn't it better for them to just think everything is fine?

Nice to see you looking so strong and well, since the last video when you were experiencing a bad time. These words so right, and help a lot when you want to help but say all the wrong things. so Thank You

This is so practical! Thank you so much❤️

As daft as it sounds, if they have a dodgy ’phone charger, can’t afford/muster-up the energy to buy another and need access to suicide hotlines 24/7 for their own safety, lend them one. You might be saving a life.

Thank you so much for this video! The words of comfort really spoke to me. Your compassion is very much appreciated.

I’ve been talking with someone online that I really care about not in a relationship way but I notice they aren’t exactly depressed but I feel horrible when I am not able to properly sag anything when they are sad or anxious

Thank you so much for this ❤️

Thanks. Informative video

Thanks Douglas. Happy new year. 😊

Im not going to leave u im going to take care of myself so u dont have to worry that your situation might hurt me

Thank you. I hope this will help my man. 💛😭💛💛

This is so helpful ❤

Thank you for this video!

Thanks

I love all ur advices ♡

Praying? This is certainly a different approach than what worked for me.

Youre not alone in this Im not gonna leabe qnd abondane you When its aal over im gonna be here and so do u

Thanks Douglas

Thanks for the advice

Such valuable information- thank you for sharing!!

Bailey if your watching this I love you ❤️

Ok but what are we doing with the Papyrus font on the video title, doc? Comic Sans is what you want.

Ha! Not in my African society where Missy people just keep it bottled up until they eventually die from heart related problems.

thanks

Douglas Bloch - would it be too straight forward to share a video of depression and it’s symptoms w someone who we think has depression? My boyfriend broke up with me three months ago and I think his depression led to it. We had a few minor conflicts and he became defeated and gave up on us. We still are in contact via text, due to my initiation and he’ll meet up w me physically, but he’s not ready to open up emotionally. He’s very shut down and complains of his body hurting all over. He maintains his job but self-loathes and acts unworthy and told me he’s incapable of being in a relationship, although he wants one. He self-soothes with alcohol daily.. He describes his mood as a “funk” he can’t get out of and doesn’t use the word depression. I’m willing to stand by him and support him in anyway I can...any way he’ll allow.

Good info👍👍👍👍

I tihnk the "I have empathy," may not be a good one since that suggests you have gone through same or exact similar thing. A better thing would be to sympathize and certainly put yourself in their shoes but to tell them you empathize and not truly having gone what they've gone or currently going through seems a bit patronizing.

Sir my wife suffering from mdr tb..and too much toxic medication cause her anxiety & depressed. Medication course is too long. I'm worried about her.

My bf: why are you so lazy, move on, do something with your life, get over it you are not the only one, why are you sad anyway.... 😔

Someone please help. My bestie/girlfriend is STRONGLY considering suicide and I can't lose her right now. In the past two years I e lost 2 relatives, my dad doesn't want to see me anymore and I've lost 3 friends to death. Someone help. Please. I don't know what to do or say. I don't want to lose her. She's refusing help and is ready to give up. Someone please. I don't wanna lose my baby girl. ~ Skyler

You are impotant to me if u need a friend im here

Just say " cheer up mate"

What if I already said the things I shouldn't have said, but didn't know it wouldn't help, to someone with depression? He's ignoring me now and I once did save him from depression and I think I messed a lot of it up now. I'm scared if he will commit suicide because I broke his heart and really didn't mean to. This is the first person I've met with deep depression and I don't know what to do anymore. It's a long distance relationship and I can't get skype. Please help our relationship.

“Remember son, dying is gay” “Remember son, depression is gay”

I'm sorry but like- what to do if your loved one is deprresed- PRAY FOR THEM! Omagaaawdd my problems are solved now 🤩 - yes I hold a grudge fight me Like the video is good yes, but the flipin- pray to god!- here's the address and here's the number and this is how you pray ;) welcome to the cult It was honestly unnecessary in my mind. There is already enough Cristian family's who belive that just praying for their kid will make everything better rather than going and seeking ACCTUAL PSYHOLOGIST

Thanks Douglas