In this edition of Fresh Hope for Mental Health, a son and mother share their compelling joining of finding hope in the midst of the hopelessness that followed a manic episode. Lee shares his story of the first glimmer of hope that he had in the midst of severe depression. It was when he heard Pastor Brad’s story that Lee for the first time had hope.
These healthy friendships can have positive impact on your depression.
When you love someone that is experiencing deep depression it can be exhausting and frustrating. You want to encourage your loved one but don’t want to push them too much. Encouraging them to “push through” but knowing when not to do so is a delicate balance. You might even find yourself feeling the depression emotionally. No doubt caring for someone who is in the depths of depression can feel as though life is being sucked out of you. You can end up having no idea as to how to help or encourage your loved one.
The Bible offers practical advice on developing and maintaining good friendships.
Good friends take time for each other. Friendships don’t occur in a vacuum. “Be devoted to one another…” Romans 12:16. Spending time together doing activities that you enjoy or working on projects together create opportunities to build relationships.
Depression lies.
It convinces you, ‘“My friends don’t want to be around me.” “I’ll just bring everyone else down.” “I am not worthy of having friends.” “Nobody likes me anymore.”
When you are depressed, making and keeping friends can be a challenge. But research shows that a group of positive friends makes a difference.
These healthy friendships can have positive impact on your depression.
I also realized that my goal was to overcome my fearful situations and not to please my friends. I realized that I wasn’t going to waste my time arguing with my friends who were giving me a difficult time. I realized that this was not a public relations event where I needed to get everyone’s approval. This was my life and my focus was to find the ways to manage my fears.
When you love someone that is experiencing deep depression it can be exhausting and frustrating. You want to encourage your loved one but don’t want to push them too much. Encouraging them to “push through” but knowing when not to do so is a delicate balance. You might even find yourself feeling the depression emotionally. No doubt caring for someone who is in the depths of depression can feel as though life is being sucked out of you. You can end up having no idea as to how to help or encourage your loved one.
Bipolar disease is difficult for caregivers, too. What can you do to help someone who has bipolar disease?
Please confirm you want to block this member.
You will no longer be able to:
Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.
For every $16.64 given annually, we are able to offer hope for one year to one person.
Any amount you are able to give will help bring hope to those who desperately need it.
We want to make sure that we send you information that will best serve your needs, so please take a few moments to fill in the information below.
(Please note that your privacy is our utmost concern. Fresh Hope will never sell your data and your information is kept strictly confidential)
English 
Spanish