Telling my friend what I'm going through

[Annabel_two_worlds]

Hey everyone,

I've been struggling with depression for the last 7 or 8 months at least and its only gotten worse as time goes by, particularly these last couple of months. I think a lot of the reason I'm getting worse is because I feel so alone and by myself because I haven't told anyone what I'm going through. I want to tell one of my really close friends who I know I can trust and I know she'll be accepting of it and will only want to do what she can to help me. I just think it'll be good to get off my chest and to have someone checking in on me to see how I'm going, as well as having someone I can talk to about it so I don't feel like I'm struggling through this completely alone.

 The only thing is I have no idea how to bring it up to her. I mentioned to her that I've been feeling pretty crappy lately and that I'm not having the best time, but I think she meant I was just referring to a bit of a bad week, not a more serious situation. How do I bring up that I'm depressed? And if any of you have had this experience of telling people about your depression how did you approach it, what did you say and did you feel better afterwards? 

 thanks for your responses 🙂 

[BenD]

Hi Annabel,

To be honest I'm not sure that there is a particularly right time to do things. My work mates pointed out to me one day that my brother (who worked with me at the time) looked a bit down, a bit depressed, and then it just clicked when I told him. At that point our family understood that what he was going through wasn't just 'a bad week', it was something deeper.

His opening up was a catalyst for me, his twin brother and the rest of our family for tackling his mental struggles and our own.

I would suggest that you try talking somewhere over coffee or food so that you have each others full attention. I go to the pub with my brothers every now and then. It's really great.

Good on you for taking action Annabel, I guarantee you will feel a lot better afterwards. I would say the feeling is more of relief than anything else.

Ben

[Annabel_two_worlds]

Thanks for your response Ben. I was just brave enough and finally told one of my friends and even though it was terrifying I feel a bit better knowing that I'm not in this alone anymore.

 Annabel

[BenD]

Well done girl 🙂