I’m almost certain that my friend Sofia has depression. She never shows it and is really good at hiding it but often drops hints. I’ve heard from lots of people that she’s depressed and has even talked about suicide. I don’t know if they lie but I’ve been trying to get a closer look st her and they may be right. She usually makes jokes about depression and she always seems so out of it and always seems to force a laugh even though she’s really good at it. She’s really good at putting in an “I’m doing great” face and nobody ever seems to question her mental health. It really worries me. I want to help her but I don’t know how to approach her. She isn’t one to really care about things or give reactions so she probably wouldn’t say anything and push it away and laugh it off and say “no lol” but I don’t know. She really seems to push it away but I really want to help. By my experiences, bottling it up is extremely painful and unhealthy. I don’t want that for her. She means a lot more to me than she thinks (even though we don’t act too close) because she’s one of my only friends. Please help me. I want to help her. I want to see how I can make her feel atleast a bit better and have her talk to me. I’ll be waiting for your responses, thank you. (Sorry if there are any really bad spelling errors)
try to get her to see her local Dr to assess her and he will refer her to a pscyhiatrist.
Hi Amber how about you do you have any of the same issues and Sofia? Maybe that is how you see them in Sofia that you feel the same way sometimes? You are a very nice and caring person. Diane
Thank you for the concern! I think I may have depression but I’m not certain, it’s not diagnosed but at the moment I really want to try to help her! I don’t know but Sofia always makes it seem like she’s ok like if nobody mentioned anything I probably wouldn’t have noticed but many people are telling me about her being depressed and suicidal and now that I look at her I see the possibility.
What if you told her you have been feeling really down lately and wondered if you personally were depressed. Yes this is a little white lie but opening up and showing some vulnerability on your part would help her open up. If she is hinting some then it is there. She might not have any idea how to deal with it and it can be healed! There's no reason to be ashamed but some people are to embarrassed to discuss it. She may also be someone who feels awkward about asking for help or seeing a therapist. She should see both a therapist and a psychiatrist.
How old is she? Maybe you could contact her parents about it? Maybe she's more comfortable talking with them about it. Maybe she's hiding it because she doesn't wanna seem weak. The only thing I can recommend is that you have a talk with her about it and support her as much as you can.
Hi amber - how old is she? Do you know anything about her home life at all? Is she safe there?