I really want to help my best friend feel better again and support her in her recovery journey from depression. But she keeps pushing me away and says that she does not want to burden me with her problems. I feel hurt that she treats me this way because I can’t do anything as I see her suffering mentally and physically. How can I help my friend?
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hi kopio! i can understand how you feel because i also had a friend who went through a similar situation where she completely shut everyone out because she felt like a burden. the truth is, we care for our friends as we want to help them get through these hard times. i suggest that you try to express your concern for her well-being. friends are supposed to help each other out, you could explain that she was never a burden to you and that you want to help her through the recovery journey. you could stay by her side or frequently text/call, to show that you would stay and be there for her. your best friend may start to see that you are sincere and start to open up about her problems. hang in there! you are being a really good friend by helping her, so don’t give up:)
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Hi kopio! I agree with what eevee has said as for my experience of going through something similar but not as serious as depression. We might not want others to feel burden by what we are going through so we don’t dare express ourselves as openly as we would want to. Because we sometimes think once we share with our friends or family what we are feeling, we are putting the burden of our problems onto their shoulders when they already have their own problems. I think we just needed people to be there for us, letting us know that there are people that will be there when we feel ready to open up about our feelings as currently we might be feeling worried and/or anxious about telling others about what we are thinking or feeling, for fear that others might not want to be with us anymore or judge us. So you just being by her side and checking on once in awhile might encourage her to open up about what she is feeling/thinking or she might just go to you to ask for a hug just to show you that she is grateful for ur presence by her side.
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