One of my first posts on this blog was about what not to say when someone’s dealing with depression, but now I thought it would be helpful to address ways you can support someone, too. In this post I will list five different ways you can aid a friend with mental illness.
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Pictures by Andrea
If you’re keeping up with my blog, surely it can’t have escaped your attention that I have lots of experience with mental illnesses. So in light of Mental Health Awareness Month, I have devised a list of songs that sound just like that inner voice expressing your depression/anxiety. Enjoy?
You may also like »Things You Don’t Want To Hear When You’re Depressed«
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I have had sleep issues as long as I have been battling mental health issues, which is coming down to a rough total of ten years. However, it had somehow never occurred to me to seek out help for this specific problem.
Finally, this year, I was offered the chance to partake in sleep therapy as a way to keep me occupied while on the wait-list for treatment. For six consecutive weeks I would be learning all about sleep health, and how lifestyle and mentality can affect your rhythm. In this post I’ve summarised for you how the sleep therapy treatment has effectively changed my routine.
After spending months on a wait-list, with no clear indication whatsoever when I would be able to start therapy, I got a phone call out of the blue that they were finally offering me treatment. Clearly, they too felt it had taken long enough. They were absolutely right, but I just sat with one problem: I felt no connection at all with the therapist in question. So, I refused their offer.
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A couple of years ago, I started playing music whenever I was having trouble falling asleep. It’s turned out as one of the best coping mechanisms for me, and has helped me through my most challenging mental health issues. Now, I play music every night as I go to bed. There’s always a few albums that help me calm down.
You might also like »How I Spend Time Alone«
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Next week I have my last therapy session in the UK. Though I have been receiving on-and-off treatment for about eight years now, I have never had to face the idea of finishing therapy like this before. I wanted to write about my feelings towards it, what the treatment process was like, and what I plan to do next. I also want to share some of the things I’ve learned from therapy and give you my best mental health tips.
Other mental health posts
»Balancing Work And Health: What I’ve Learned«
»Things You Don’t Want to Hear When You’re Depressed«
A persisting low mood, loss of interests, declining self-esteem and little energy to do things – it can happen to anyone. Depression is a common mental illness that affects about one in ten people in the UK, according to the NHS. Causes may vary, but one thing is certain: depression does not discriminate.
Unfortunately, people with depression are often misunderstood and have to deal with many hurtful comments about what is essentially an invisible but very serious illness. Nevertheless, a healthy support network can make a world of difference for a person with depression. So how can you help someone cope? And what should you most certainly not do?
I have drawn up a number of tips from years of dealing with depression. These include things people have said to me that were not helpful, and things people have done that were helpful. What I want to emphasise most of all is that depression can be very hard – not just on the person themselves, but also on their surroundings – but that you can help someone a long way even with the tiniest gestures.
Also, please always bear in mind that you are not a professional and it is not your job to “fix” the other person: all you can do is be there for them. At the bottom of this post I have listed some resources that can help when you or another person is having a hard time.
Special thanks to Lauren for helping me edit this piece. Continue Reading