A depressed individual can be emotionally withdrawn, isolated, lethargic, self-critical and, sometimes, suicidal. If you talk candidly with the individual regarding your concerns for his or her wellbeing, it will often bring the problems out into the open. Emphasize that your primary objective is to convey feelings of concern and assist them in receiving appropriate, professional help. If the person expresses thoughts of suicide, but refuses to seek assistance, you should consult with a mental health professional.

Some of you reading this Blog have friends or loved ones who are experiencing depression as a result of living with chronic pain. Maybe you’ve asked yourself How can I help? Some of you may have become frustrated, afraid, anxious, or even angry with the depressed person and maybe you even wanted to escape or avoid them. If someone you care about is struggling with depression, you can be a valuable resource.

If you are the one with depression you can share this information with a friend that is willing to learn how to be more supportive. Below is a brief ten-point checklist of ideas for being part of the solution; not part of the problem.

Suggestions for Helping a Depressed Friend

1. Be empathic and understanding
2. Don’t try to cheer up a depressed person
3. Avoid critical or shaming statements
4. Challenge expressions of hopelessness
5. Empathize with feelings of sadness, grief, anger and frustration
6. Don’t argue about how bad things are
7. Don’t insist that depression or sadness are the wrong feelings to be experiencing
8. Don’t become angry even though your efforts may be resisted or rejected
9. Advocate and push for their recovery from depression
10. Emphasize that depression is treatable

To learn more about dealing with depression associated with chronic pain please check out my article The Role of Clinical Depression in Chronic Pain Management that you can download for free on our Ariticles page.

You can learn more about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you are working with people in chronic pain or living with chronic pain yourself and want to learn how to develop a plan for managing the pain and coexisting psychological disorders including depression or addiction effectively please go to our Publications page and check out my book the Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To listen to a radio interview I did conducted by Mary Woods for her program One Hour at a Time please Click Here to go to listen to this interview.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please Click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please Click here and input your name and email address. You will then recieve an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.