How to Support People

[descant]

UPDATE: I'm making this entry public, so people can link to it. Comments are screened for anonymous posters only.

Stephen Fry made a memoir-documentary called "The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive". In the film, he explored his own battle with manic depression (aka bipolar disorder) and interviewed others with the same condition. The video can

Comments

What Not to Say/Do

[gemini6ice]

add "You've got to stop worrying about things. Just stop thinking the negative thoughts. It worked for me"

Re: What Not to Say/Do

[gemini6ice]

"call them 'emo' or 'debbie downer'"

Re: What Not to Say/Do

[gemini6ice]

be a know-it-all

Re: What Not to Say/Do

[descant]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. Do you mean telling the person what it feels like to be them?

Re: What Not to Say/Do

[gemini6ice]

Someone acting like they understand how you feel better than you do, especially when it's based on simply having experienced sadness, not on actually suffering from DEPRESSION. Bob's dog died once, and he was sad, and then he got over it, so he knows JUST HOW YOU FEEL, and he's going do his best to puff his chest and appear wise about YOU.

I hate when people respond with "aw what are you depressed about?" They don't understand the difference between sadness and depression.

Re: What Not to Say/Do

[descant]

Got it! Thanks for clarifying.

Re: What Not to Say/Do

[gemini6ice]

force unsolicited advice