Depression Awareness Week - infographic

Depression can be an incredibly isolating condition - making it difficult for loved ones to know what to say or do.

Often the knee-jerk reaction is to offer advice, tell them to 'cheer up' or to 'pull yourself together'. While this may seem like an appropriate thing to say, in reality it can be hurtful to the person with depression.

Suffering from depression is very different to feeling 'low' or having the 'blues'. It is a mental health condition and the person suffering from it will not have control over how they feel.

This means that they are not able to 'snap out of it' or 'cheer up'. Instead what is needed is support, love and often a listening ear. In our infographic we have collated a number of tips for those who care for someone with depression.

Offering this support is crucial, however there are instances where professional intervention is required. To learn more about depression and how a counsellor could help, please read our depression page.

To support Depression Awareness Week, we invite you to share our infographic on Facebook and Twitter, and to visit the Depression Alliance website.