RSS Email

27 Things you must know about your Friends with Anxiety and Depression

stress

Do you have a friend, who is constantly depressed?
If yes, then you surely know about the different things that he goes through, as a patient of depression. Gone are the days when people made fun of depression, now, more and more people are aware of this problem, due to which it is being taken far more seriously than ever before.
Depression is not just a state of mind; it is a feeling of chronic loneliness; a feeling which isolates you even in a room full of people; a feeling in which you dwell in sadness for hours, days, months or even years together. A lot of people go through this. However, they are not well understood by everyone.
This is exactly where you need to do your part. Here are the top 30 things you must know and understand about your friends going through anxiety issues and depression:
1) They don’t like getting out of bed, but that doesn’t mean they can never get out of there. If they are unable to pull themselves out of there, help them; pull them out of their sorrows.
2) They are not lazy, they are depressed; there’s a big difference. Most of the people say that their depressed friends are lazy. Trust me when I say this – they are not at all lazy; they just don’t know how to do things the way other people do.
3) They are not cowards; they are going through things that you can’t even imagine: They go through hundreds of things together; their mind is endless and it keeps pushing them to depressive thoughts.
4) They are hysterical, yes, because they don’t know how to balance their emotions: You might see them getting overly excited at times and overly sensitive during other times; that’s because hysteria doesn’t leave them.
5) Their abnormal heartbeats are palpitations; that’s not acid reflux or acidity. If you tell them that their heart palpitations are nothing but acidic heartburns, they can never explain to you about their depression.
6) They have already got their ‘to-do’ list, but they are not able to focus on anything at all. They are trying hard to cope-up with different things, but are unable to concentrate on any task that they wish to do.
7) They do go out, they do sit with their friends, but they are lonely in larger groups too. Even if you see your depressed friends sitting in larger groups, give them special attention.
8) Their problem is not to be made fun of. A lot of people still make fun of depressed patients; don’t do that with your friends; what they are going through is something they don’t want others to go through.
9) They don’t sleep well at night the way you do, despite trying really hard. They try hard to fall asleep but they are just not able to.
10) They are not smiling, they are struggling. Even if they are smiling, they are not happy.
11) They sleep the whole day at times, but that’s not good either. They might sleep whole day, but that doesn’t make them lazy; that’s just another symptom of being severely depressed.
12) Their heart sinks with the thought of losing you. Don’t tell them you would leave them, ever.
13) They have suicidal thoughts in their minds. Depressed people are bound to think about suicide every once in a while.
14) They wish to do a lot of things but they don’t want to take the efforts. It’s not that they don’t want to live; they wish to do many things, but are unable to.
15) They feel unwanted, despite the number of friends they have on Facebook. They may have a long list of friends on Facebook; that doesn’t make them less depressed.
16) Their status messages are not for sympathy; they don’t need sympathy, they need love. If they have depressive status messages, don’t ignore them; that’s not for sympathy, they need your attention and love.
17) Yes, they seek attention at times, but that’s only to get love and care from you. They do it all the time because they don’t get the love they deserve.
18) They get up in the middle of the night, screaming from nightmares. Depressed people are bound to have nightmares.
19) They are like you, but they are nothing like you. Despite being human, they seem like aliens in larger groups.
20) They bite their nails due to anxiety. Don’t stop them from biting their nails; it’s a sign of severe anxiety and depression.
21) They tell you to leave but they don’t want you to go. Even if they are rude at times, don’t leave them, they need you.
22) They cancel plans because they don’t want you to know things about their life. They want to be in their shell at times; don’t let them dwell there.
23) They have isolated themselves, but they don’t mind you coming over to see them. Drop into their home to see them, they will love it!
24) You are their only hope. You can help them survive and lead a better, stress-free life.
25) They are not hiding anything from you; they just don’t know what’s going on inside their mind. They might not be able to explain about their depression; that’s only because they don’t know why they are depressed.
26) Their breakup has affected them more than you can imagine. They can’t pull themselves out of their bad breakup.
27) They want to come out of depression, but they are unable to. They feel every word you say; don’t be rude to them.