10 Things to Say (and 10 Not to Say) to Someone With Depression

How to show you care

What do you say to someone who’s depressed? All too often, it’s the wrong thing.

“People still have such a cloudy idea of what mental illness is,” says Kathleen Brannon, of Herndon, Va.

“Sometimes people will say, ‘Oh, you’re depressed? Yeah, I’ve been depressed,’ and you realize just the way they say it that, nooo, it’s not quite the same thing. It’s not just that I’m feeling sad or blue.”

Below is a list of helpful things to tell someone battling depression, followed by what not to say, courtesy of the Depression Alliance.

I’m here for you

What to say:
You’re not alone in this.

What NOT to say:
There’s always someone worse off than you are.

You matter